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KLEUIAEVAL  BUILDERS   OF     :",.,:     ! 
IXLODERIl  WORLD 


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fftebiaebal  Buil&erjs 
of  tfje  Jftotorn  iHorltis 


JWeHiactoal  48tttnietB  at  tlje  JftoSetn  SISRorto 


BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 


BY 
MARION  FLORENCE  LANSING,  M.A. 


ILLUSTRATED 

BY  REPRODUCTIONS  OF  DRAWINGS 

FROM  OLD  ENGRAVINGS 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 
*S*LlFO*Nl^ 


GINN  AND  COMPANY 

BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1911,  BY  MARION   FLORENCE   LANSING 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


JUL    8   I91L 
GIFT     d^i 


GINN  AND  COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

MEDIAEVAL  BUILDERS  OF  THE  MODERN 
WORLD 

History  has  no  period  which  makes  a  more  vivid  appeal 
to  the  young  reader  than  the  thousand  years  which  we  call 
the  Middle  Ages.  The  mediaeval  world  is  just  such  a  world 
as  he  would  like  to  live  in,  where  knights  ride  off  on  cru- 
sades, and  kings  wander  out  from  their  palaces  in  disguise, 
where  heroes  sail  away  to  explore  unknown  seas,  and  gay 
cavaliers  sally  forth  to  tournament  and  joust.  It  requires 
no  effort  to  interest  boys  and  girls  in  this  part  of  history. 
They  turn  to  it  with  the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  seize 
fairy  tales  and  legends  of  chivalry  and  romance,  and  find  in 
its  reality  a  satisfying  response  to  the  desire  for  a  true  story. 

The  child's  interest  being  assured,  the  problem  is  to 
make  this  interest  of  use  in  the  process  of  his  education. 
The  purpose  of  this  series  is  to  relate  this  fascinating  and 
heroic  past  to  the  present  by  telling  the  stories  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  contribution  of  the  Middle  Ages  to 
the  world  of  to-day.  The  heroes  gain  a  new  importance 
and  the  stories  a  new  meaning  by  this  treatment.  Who 
the  "  mediaeval  builders  "  were  may  be  seen  by  the  titles 
of  the  following  books  which  make  up  the  series :  "  Bar- 
barian and  Noble,"  *'  Patriots  and  Tyrants,"  "  Sea  Kings 
and  Explorers,"  M  Kings  and  Common  Folk,"  "  Cavalier 
and  Courtier,"  "  Craftsman  and  Artist." 


217113 


Vl  PREFACE 

BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

In  this  volume  are  grouped  stories  of  that  early  period 
of  the  Middle  Ages  when  Europe  was  the  meeting  place 
of  many  races  and  tribes  which  were  later  to  make  up  the 
nations  of  the  modern  world.  In  its  broad  lines  the  his- 
torical epic  of  the  wandering  of  the  nations,  and  of  the 
formation  of  Christendom  out  of  a  chaos  of  tribes  and 
peoples  and  tongues,  is  as  stirring  as  any  saga ;  in  its 
details  there  are  many  bits  of  epic  prose,  many  quaint 
scenes  from  the  life  of  the  time,  and  many  pictures  of 
well-known  heroes.  It  is,  moreover,  with  all  its  tragedy 
of  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  a  tale  of  hope;  for 
there  runs  through  it  a  single  line  of  progress,  —  that  the 
barbarian  of  one  age  appears  as  the  noble  of  the  next, 
taking  his  turn  in  defending  his  world  against  the  onrush 
of  new  barbarians.  Barbarian  becoming  noble  uncon- 
sciously, uncivilized  becoming  civilized,  that  is  the  tale  of 
the  early  Middle  Ages  in  relation  to  the  world  of  to-day; 
and  it  is  a  tale  fascinating  beyond  one's  most  hopeful 
anticipations. 

From  this  material  Kingsley  and  Scott,  Dickens  and 

Miss  Yonge  and  Freeman  drew  what  suited  their  purpose 

as  writers  of  England's  story ;  but  the  history  of  the  early 

Middle  Ages  in  its  relation  to  the  progress  of  civilization 

has  never  been  adequately  told  for  younger  readers.   The 

table  of  contents  will  indicate  the  story  interest  of  the 

tales;  the  deeper  purpose  of  the  book  has  been  carefully 

traced  out  in  the  notes: 

M.  F.  L. 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Barbarian  and  Noble 1 

The  Story  of  Drusus 3 

A  Roman  and  a  Barbarian 10 

The  Coming  of  the  Witch  People      .     .     .     .     .  18 

Alaric  the  Goth 27 

Attila  the  Scourge  of  God 40^ 

Theodoric 57 

Goth  against  Goth 64 

Clovis,  King  of  the  Franks 80 

Roderick  and  the  Saracens 92 

Charlemagne 102 

The  School  of  the  Palace 109 

Vikings  from  the  North 115 

Alfred  and  the  Danes 123 

Rollo  the  Viking 137 

Saint  Winfred 151 

Richard  the  Crusader 159 

NOTES 169 


BARBARIAN  AND   NOBLE 


NOBLES  and  barbarians,  civilized  nations  and 
uncivilized  tribes,  conquered  and  unconquered, 
—  so  the  world  was  divided  in  the  golden  age  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  when  the  city  on  the  seven  hills 
ruled  the  world,  when  it  was  the  proudest  boast  a 
man  could  make  to  say,  "  I  am  a  Roman  citizen," 
and  he  who  could  claim  that  right  looked  on  the 
subject  peoples  of  the  north  and  west  and  south 
and  east  and  called  them  barbarians,  while  under 
his  breath  he  termed  them  slaves. 

Thus  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  great  Caesars,  and 
it  was  a  wise  order  of  things  for  a  time,  for  so  the 
whole  known  world  was  drawn  together  into  a  huge 
framework  of  law  and  civilization ;  so  it  came  about 
that  the  great  waters  were  guarded  by  Roman  trans- 
ports, and  merchants  might  journey  over  them  in 
safety,  and  commerce  prospered ;  and  so  it  was  that 
great  highways  were  built  across  the  continent  of 
Europe,  until  the  saying  was  that  "all  roads  led  to 
Rome." 

But  there  was  one  region  where  Roman  roads  did 
not  penetrate,  and  where,  though  legions  of  trained 


2  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

soldiers  marched  and  countermarched,  they  did  not 
stay  nor  hold  a  lasting  place.  Down  through  the 
map  of  Europe  run  two  rivers,  in  the  north  the 
Rhine  and  in  the  south  the  Danube,  forming  a 
natural  boundary  which  separates  the  great  forests  of 
Germany  and  Austria  and  Hungary  from  the  west- 
ern plains  and  peninsulas  ;  and  this  boundary  stood 
as  the  frontier,  the  limit  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

It  had  not  been  the  wish  of  the  great  mistress  of 
the  nations  that  she  should  stop  here ;  it  was  the 
dream  of  Roman  emperors  that  she  should  rule  the 
world  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  its  setting ;  but 
here  she  had  been  forced  to  pause,  and  the  reason 
why  she  stopped  her  imperial  progress  is  told  in 
the  first  story  of  the  conflict  between  barbarian 
and  noble. 


THE  STORY  OF  DRUSUS 

WAS  it  the  army  of  some  mighty  rival  power 
that  stopped  the  lines  of  Roman  soldiery 
when  they  came  to  the  banks  of  the  river  Rhine  ? 
Or  did  the  people  who  met  them  there  have  better 
swords  or  mightier  engines  of  war  than  these  veteran 
warriors,  —  these  world  conquerors  ?  No,  that  was 
the  strange  part  of  it.  It  was  a  simple  forest  people 
who  held  those  lands  west  of  the  river  boundary,  — 
a  people  who  dwelt  in  scattered  villages  and  lived 
by  the  hunt  and  the  chase.  Men  of  a  later  day, 
looking  back  on  them  as  they  stand  out  in  contrast 
to  their  foes,  have  called  them  forest  children,  for, 
though  they  were  tall  and  strong,  men  in  stature 
and  in  years,  yet  they  were  children  at  heart,  and 
they  met  their  all-powerful  enemy  with  the  simplicity 
and  courage  of  children. 

The  Romans  could  not  understand  their  Gothic 
opponents,  who  were  for  that  very  cause  the  more 
terrible  to  them.  It  was  impossible  for  the  crafty 
Roman  to  comprehend  a  chieftain  who  could  cut 
down  a  dozen  men  in  battle  with  merciless  cruelty, 
but  who  would  ride  beforehand  unarmed  into  the 

3 


4  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

enemy's  camp  to  appoint  the  place  and  hour  for  the 
battle,  in  order  that  neither  side  might  gain  an  undue 
advantage.  The  mystery  of  an  alien  people  was  more 
terrifying  than  a  forest  of  swords. 

The  Romans  did  not  give  up  easily.  Many  a  gen- 
eral volunteered  for  the  perilous  northern  service, 
and  of  all  those  who  fought  the  barbarians  none 
was  braver  than  the  mighty  Drusus.  It  was  he  who 
was  the  first  Roman  captain  to  sail  the  dread  North 
Ocean ;  and  it  was  he  who  cast  up  on  the  farther 
side  of  the  Rhine  those  deep  and  well-paved  trenches 
which  for  centuries  were  called  by  his  name.  Many 
a  time  he  had  put  the  barbarian  to  the  sword,  and 
when  he  had  driven  him  far  into  the  inmost  recesses 
of  the  forest,  had  not  given  over  chasing  and  pur- 
suing. It  was  surely  meet  that  Drusus  be  the  one  to 
enter  the  Gothic  lands  and  subdue  the  Gothic  peoples, 
who,  though  they  came  out  and  made  treaties  with 
the  Romans  and  even  served  for  pay  in  their  armies, 
looking  with  admiring  eyes  on  their  great  cities  with 
high  walls  and  towers,  yet  slipped  away  into  their 
forest  shelters  and  beat  back  their  former  masters 
with  sharp-pointed  arrows,  shot  from  behind  rough 
breastworks  of  trees. 

In  the  reign  of  the  emperor  Augustus,  greatest 
of  all  the  Caesars,  Drusus  brought  his  men  across 


THE  MARCH  INTO  THE  FOREST  5 

the  Rhine  on  fiat-bottomed  boats,  and  plunged  with 
them  into  the  forest.  It  was  a  hard  and  toilsome 
march,  for  the  way  led  through  dense  forests  and 
trackless  swamps,  where  many  men  were  lost.  When 
the  Romans  met  a  company  of  Goths  drawn  up  be- 
fore their  village  in  battle  line,  they  were  more  often 
than  not  able  to  gain  the  victory  and  drive  them  back 
in  disorder ;  but  the  Goths  would  disappear  into  the 
woods,  and  the  next  day,  as  the  army  was  struggling 
along,  trees,  half  felled  the  day  before,  would  begin 
to  fall  at  the  touch  of  unseen  hands,  until  a  network 
of  logs  was  formed  which  would  halt  the  march  for 
many  a  weary  hour  until  the  Romans  could  go  round 
it  or  slowly  clear  it  away.  By  night  strange  sounds, 
more  terrifying  even  than  the  howling  of  the  wild 
beasts  which  must  be  kept  ever  at  bay,  disturbed 
their  slumbers.  Now  there  would  be  calls  and  cries 
from  one  side,  and  then  a  response  would  come  from 
far  away,  until  the  superstitious  declared  that  the 
forest  was  bewitched.  Yet  the  brave  Drusus  pressed 
on  undaunted,  and  the  army  plodded  along  behind 
him,  until  they  came  to  the  river  Elbe,  the  river  in 
the  center  of  Germany.  They  had  gone  many,  many 
miles  beyond  the  farthest  point  which  other  armies 
had  reached,  and  it  really  seemed  as  if  this  barbarian 
land,  never  before  trodden  by  Roman  feet,  was  to 


6  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

be  forced  to  yield  its  secrets  to  the  mighty  Drusus 
and  come  under  imperial  sway. 

Then  a  strange  thing  befell.  Perhaps  the  Romans 
had  gone  too  near  the  sacred  grove  that  lay  in  the 
midst  of  the  region  where  Odin,  the  great  god  of 
the  Teutons,  was  borru>  There  none  might  enter 
save  with  a  chain  around  his  neck  to  show  his  sub- 
jection, and  if  a  man  fell  there  he  might  not  raise 
himself  again,  but  must  crawl  out  backward  on  hands 
and  knees.  In  any  case  the  Romans  had  gone  too 
far.  \  Again  and  again  they  had  been  warned,  but 
they  nad  not  heeded  the  sounds  by  night  nor  the 
spells  that  had  been  cast  upon  them  by  day.  Their 
hearts  had  been  too  full  of  Roman  pride,  and  their 
ears  too  dull  of  hearing.  Then  the  mystery  of  the 
north,  the  dread,  beautiful  spirit  of  Germania,  took 
on  human  form,  that  she  might  be  seen  by  even  their 
mortal  eyes,  for  her  land  was  in  danger  and  she 
must  needs  warn  back  these  rude  invaders.  All  at 
once,  in  the  path  over  which  Drusus  led  his  army, 
there  stood,  it  is  said,  a  wondrous  woman,  taller  than 
mankind  and  of  more  than  mortal  beauty.  Her  ap- 
pearance was  in  the  likeness  of  a  barbarian  woman, 
J  with  eyes  as  blue  as  the  sky  and  flaxen  hair  that 
streamed  behind  her  as  a  cloud.  While  the  soldiers 
shrank  back  in  terror  before  this  vision,  she  spoke. 


GERMANIA  REPELLING  DRUSUS 


8  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Slowly  and  in  his  own  tongue  she  addressed  the 
general,  and,  though  the  music  of  the  forest  was  in 
her  voice,  yet  the  Roman  shivered  as  though  a  cold 
wind  had  struck  him. 

1  ■  Whither  art  thou  hastening,  insatiable  Drusus  ? 
Back,  I  command  thee !  It  is  not  fated  that  thou 
shalt  see  all  this  region.  Depart !  For  thee  the  end 
of  labor  and  of  life  is  already  at  hand." 

Then  the  invaders  knew  that  the  very  gods  of 
these  heathen  peoples  were  against  them,  and  they 
turned  and  went  back  all  the  long  way  to  the  river 
Rhine  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  their  fright  they  remem- 
bered that  they  were  Romans,  and  on  the  farthest 
point  which  they  had  reached  they  set  up  in  the 
Roman  fashion  a  trophy,  a  monument  of  stone,  by 
which  generations  still  unborn  should  know  that  in 
this  the  ninth  year  before  the  Christian  era  Romans 
penetrated  thus  far  into  the  land  of  the  Goths^  Be- 
cause of  the  misfortune  of  the  expedition,  men  of  a 
later  day  called  the  monument  Scelerata,  which  is  to 
say  Accursed ;  for  the  prophecy  of  Germania  was 
fulfilled,  and,  as  the  brave  Drusus  was  returning  in 
haste,  ere  ever  he  reached  the  Rhine  or  set  foot  on 
Roman  soil  he  fell  from  his  horse  and  died. 

So  the  Romans  were  turned  back,  and  all  Rome 
mourned  for  the  brave  Drusus,  who  had  given  his 


THE  RIVER  BOUNDARY  9 

life  for  the  Empire.  But  it  was  not  in  the  Roman 
blood  to  accept  defeat,  and  though  the  soldiers  told 
their  tale  of  the  wondrous  vision  that  had  turned 
them  back,  men  scoffed  at  them.  Before  the  rule  of 
the  great  Augustus  was  over,  another  Roman  general 
crossed  the  forbidden  line  and  marched  into  the  land 
of  the  Goths.  His  was  a  worse  fate  than  that  of 
Drusus,  for,  while  Drusus  lost  his  life,  he  sent  his 
army  safely  back  to  the  emperor,  while  Varus  lost 
two  whole  legions,  the  flower  of  Roman  soldiery,  in 
a  terrible  battle  in  the  swamps.  Not  for  many,  many 
years  had  Roman  arms  suffered  so  great  a  disaster. 
When  the  news  came  to  Rome,  the  whole  city  went 
into  mourning.  For  a  month  the  emperor  did  not 
cut  his  beard  nor  care  for  his  locks,  but  let  them 
grow  in  sign  of  his  grief,  and  often  in  his  sleep  or 
in  his  waking  hours  his  courtiers  heard  him  cry, 
u  O  Varus,  give  me  back  my  legions." 

Then  the  words  of  Germania  were  heeded,  and 
the  wise  emperor  decreed  that  the  fair  standards  of 
Rome  should  not  be  risked  again  across  the  Rhine, 
but  that  there  the  Empire  should  stop,  and  the 
river  should  be  the  frontier.  And  so  it  remained 
for  centuries  to  come. 


A  ROMAN  AND  A   BARBARIAN 

THERE  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  three  hun- 
dred years  after  the  Rhine-Danube  boundary 
had  been  established,  a  fierce  old  Gothic  chieftain 
who  hated  the  Romans  with  a  bitter  hatred.  He  had 
fought  against  them  in  his  young  days,  but  that  was 
not  the  cause  of  his  bitterness.  Now  in  his  old  age 
he  must  sit  in  his  dwelling  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  and  see  that  every  year  there  was  more  crossing 
and  recrossing,  that  every  year  his  people  were  becom- 
ing more  friendly  with  the  Romans.  He  had  watched 
his  comrades  go  across  that  stream.  Fine,  sturdy 
young  men  they  had  been,  and  they  had  gone  to 
serve  in  the  Roman  armies  as  paid  soldiers.  Then 
he  had  seen  them  come  back,  middle-aged  men, 
early  broken  down  by  hard  labor  and  Roman  fever, 
and  worst  of  all  by  Roman  vices.  They  had  given 
their  best  years  to  the  Romans  ;  they  had  won  their 
victories  for  them ;  but  they  had  been  carelessly 
thrown  aside  when  they  became  too  old  for  service. 
All  this  and  much  else  the  old  man  had  seen,  and 
he  had  come  to  know  that  friendship  with  the 
Romans  was  an  evil  thing  for  a  barbarian  people. 


THE  BOY  ATHANARIC  1 1 

Long  hours  the  proud  old  warrior  brooded  over 
these  matters,  and  one  day  he  called  to  him  his  son 
Athanaric.  Athanaric  was  a  tall,  handsome  lad,  with 
blue  eyes  which  could  blaze  with  anger  when  he  was  f 
roused,  and  long,  flaxen  hair,  which  was  the  sign  that 
he  came  of  a  family  of  chiefs.  All  the  tribe  loved 
the  boy  and  looked  to  the  day  when  they  should 
choose  him  to  be  their  leader,  for  the  Goths  were 
free  men  and  chose  whom  they  would  to  be  their 
chief.  The  father's  eyes  rested  on  him  with  pride  as 
he  lay  stretched  on  a  bearskin  at  his  feet,  and  then 
they  grew  stern  and  somber,  for  he  had  a  purpose 
with  the  lad  this  day.  He  began  to  tell  him  tales  of 
his  forefathers.  Hour  after  hour  he  related  to  him 
stories  of  these  men  who  had  been  the  heroes  of 
the  whole  nation,  and  had  added  to  the  glory  of 
the  Gothic  name,  until  the  boy's  heart  was  aflame 
with  pride  and  his  eyes  shone  like  stars. 

Then  the  old  man  changed  his  tales.  They  were 
still  of  the  Goths,  but  they  were  recitals  of  their 
dealings  with  the  Romans,  of  Roman  treachery,  of 
Roman  schemes  for  rending  away  their  land  from 
the  Goths,  —  always  of  the  Romans  as  ruthless  and 
overbearing  conquerors.  Athanaric 's  cheeks  burned 
with  indignation  as  he  listened,  and  he  no  longer  lay 
at  his  father's  feet  but  stood  before  him  with  hands 


12  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

clenched.  Last  of  all,  in  a  low,  sad  voice  the  old 
man  told  of  traitor  Goths  who  had  forgotten  their 
birthright  of  independence  and  sold  themselves  to 
the  conquerors.  First  they  had  been  only  foolish 
youths  who  had  sought  to  win  favor  from  the  Romans 
by  imitating  their  ways  of  dress  and  of  living.  They 
had  been  flattered  by  the  attention  which  the  crafty 
enemy  had  bestowed  on  them  and  by  the  services 
which  they  were  allowed  to  render.  They  had  gone 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  toils  and  had  sold  them- 
selves and  their  honor  for  gold  and  position,  until  at 
last  they  had  been  disowned  by  their  countrymen, 
and  their  names  were  never  spoken. 

"  Never  so  long  as  I  live  will  I  forgive  the 
Romans,"  declared  the  boy,  passionately.  " Always 
I  will  hate  them,  and  when  I  am  a  man  I  will  fight 
them." 

"Yes,  Athanaric,  you  shall  fight  them,"  replied 
the  old  warrior.  "These  arms  of  mine  have  lost 
their  strength,  and  the  blood  runs  slow  in  my  veins  ; 
but  you  in  the  strength  of  your  young  manhood  will 
lead  our  people  forth  and  drive  the  Romans  back 
when  they  try  to  cross  yonder  stream  by  force,  as 
they  surely  will  ere  many  years  are  gone." 

Athanaric  stood  awed  by  the  tone  of  assurance 
with  which  the  old  man  spoke. 


THE  PROMISE  1 3 

"  Remember,  my  lad,  when  it  comes  to  pass,  what 
I  have  told  you,"- and  the  old  man  looked  far  away 
across  the  river  at  the  Roman  towers  as  though  he 
could  see  through  them  and  beyond  them.  "The 
Goths  will  rue  the  day  when  they  crossed  to  make 
friends  with  the  Romans,  for  Roman  armies  shall 
find  their  way  back.  And  now,  Athanaric,  promise 
me  yet  one  thing,  and  I  shall  go  to  my  grave  in 
peace.  Promise  me,  by  the  great  Odin,  ruler  of  the 
world,  that  never  so  long  as  you  live  will  you  set 
foot  on  Roman  soil." 

So  Athanaric  gave  his  promise,  and  his  father's 
heart  was  satisfied,  for  now  he  knew  that  no  one 
could  deceive  the  lad  and  lure  him  away  to  destruc- 
tion with -promises  of  Roman  gold  or  fame. 

It  came  to  pass,  as  the  old  man  had  foretold,  that 
in  the  days  when  Athanaric  was  chief  of  the  Goths 
the  Romans  tried  to  overstep  the  banks  of  the  river. 
The  strife  was  long  and  bloody,  and  the  time  came 
when  both  sides  were  glad  to  come  together  and 
discuss  terms  of  peace. 

Preceded  by  two  standard  bearers,  who  bore  the 
royal  purple  banners  of  the  emperor,  the  messenger 
came  to  the  rude  camp  of  the  Goths.  On  the  outskirts 
he  was  halted  by  a  soldier  who  inquired  his  errand. 


14  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

"  Let  me  pass,"  demanded  the  Roman  in  an  in- 
solent tone.  "  I  bear  a  message  from  my  master 
to  yours." 

"  That  it  is  from  your  master  I  doubt  not,"  re- 
torted the  guard,  "  but  the  Goths  have  no  masters. 
We  are  free  men,  and  all  nobly  born  as  well." 

It  was  a  clever  shot,  and  true  withal,  for  the  name 
of  Goth  means  "  nobly  born  "  and  the  Goths  were 
proud  to  call  themselves  a  nation  of  nobles  when 
the  Romans  taunted  them  with  being  a  nation  of 
barbarians.  The  flush  on  the  cheek  of  the  ambassa- 
dor showed  that  it  had  reached  its  mark,  for  he  was, 
as  it  happened,  one  of  the  hired  foreigners  who  had 
been  promoted  to  high  rank  for  the  service  he  had 
rendered ;  but  it  still  rankled  that  he  was  often 
looked  down  upon  because  he  could  not  call  himself 
a  Roman  born. 

Without  further  words  the  guard  led  him  to  the 
hut  of  Athanaric,  and  there  he  learned  the  second 
lesson  that  had  come  to  him  that  morning,  for  the 
haughtiness  of  the  Roman  ambassador  made  no 
more  impression  on  the  barbarian  chief  than  his 
insolence  had  made  upon  the  guard.  To  the  mes- 
sage of  invitation  which  Emperor  Valens  had  sent, 
summoning  him  to  a  conference  at  which  a  truce 
could  be  concluded,  Athanaric  had  but  one  answer. 


ATHANARIC'S  REFUSAL  15 

He  had  sworn  that  he  would  never  set  foot  on 
Roman  soil.  Therefore  he  could  not  come  to  the 
royal  tent.  Gladly  would  he  receive  the  Emperor 
Valens  in  his  camp,  but  an  oath  was  an  oath.  Yes, 
he  was  willing  to  confer  concerning  a  truce,  and  his 
people  were  willing  to  end  the  war,  provided  the 
Romans  would  make  certain  promises ;  but  the  fact 
remained,  he  had  sworn  that  he  would  not  set  foot 
on  Roman  soil,  and  set  foot  he  would  not !  The 
ambassador  threatened  and  commanded  and  pleaded, 
but  to  no  purpose.  He  was  forced  to  return  to  the 
Roman  camp  with  the  refusal  of  the  stiff-necked  bar- 
barian and  the  message  that  Athanaric  would  gladly 
receive  Emperor  Valens  in  his  own  camp.  The 
messenger  could  scarce  conceal  a  smile  when  he 
gave  the  invitation  to  the  emperor  and  contrasted 
the  tapestry-hung  pavilion  of  Valens,  with  its  silken 
cushions,  with  the  hut  of  green  boughs  in  which  he 
had  been  received  across  the  river.  But  he  knew 
in  his  heart  that  the  rude  barbarian  was  more  of  a 
man  than  the  spoiled  and  flattered  emperor,  and  he 
assured  the  Roman  courtiers  in  no  uncertain  tone 
that  it  was  of  no  use  to  try  to  change  Athanaric's 
mind.    He  had  sworn,  and  it  was  final. 

Valens  stormed  and  raged  and  declared  that  the 
war  might  go  on  for  all  he  cared.    It  was  naught  to 


1 6  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

him  if  the  barbarians  were  not  ready  to  make  peace. 
The  man  should  come  to  him,  or  there  should  be  no 
peace.    That  was  the  end  of  the  matter. 

The  statesmen  and  generals  who  were  the  em- 
peror's advisers  waited  till  his  storm  of  anger  had 
passed  ;  in  truth  they  were  very  angry  themselves 
at  the  barbarian's  message.  When  their  wrath  had 
cooled  somewhat  they  set  about  making  a  plan,  and 
with  it  they  went  to  Valens. 

"  My  lord,"  said  the  chief  general  of  the  army,  "  we 
know  that  you  are  a  god  on  earth,  and  this  other  is 
but  a  rude  barbarian.  Yet  remember  the  battles  we 
have  lost  and  the  men  who  have  been  drowned  in 
the  miserable  Gothic  swamps  or  overcome  in  the 
tangled  forests.  It  is  a  wilderness  beyond  the  river, 
and  they  are  a  savage  and  heathen  people  who 
defend  it.  What  care  we  whether  we  possess  it 
or   not  ?  " 

"  I  care  not  a  fig  for  the  land  of  the  Goths," 
replied  Valens,  pettishly.  "  But  no  man  shall  say  to 
me,  Come,  and  force  me  to  come  at  his  bidding,  for 
am  I  not  the  emperor  of  the  Romans,  and  nearer  in 
rank  to  the  gods  than  any  man  on  earth  ?  " 

Then  they  told  him  the  plan  which  they  had 
made,  —  that  a  Roman  barge  should  be  moored  in  the 
middle  of  the  stream,  and  on  it  the  truce  should  be 


THE  RIVER  TREATY 


17 


concluded.  Thus  the  dignity  of  the  Roman  name 
should  be  preserved,  and  yet  the  barbarian  would  be 
able  to  keep  his  vow.  And  so  it  was  arranged  and 
carried  out.  On  a  well-moored  barge  in  the  middle 
of  the  swift-flowing  river  the  two  met,  the  lordly  em- 
peror and  the  stern,  proud  chieftain.  There  a  peace 
was  concluded  that  was  dishonoring  to  neither  name. 
By  its  terms  the  Romans  were  to  hold  in  security 
all  their  former  possessions,  while  the  barbarians 
agreed  not  to  cross  the  river  nor  attack  the  Roman 
frontier.  So  the  old-time  boundary  of  Augustus, 
which  had  been  in  danger,  was  renewed,  and,  as  his 
father  had  desired,  Athanaric  agreed  that  neither  he 
nor  his  nation  should  cross  over  to  trouble  the 
Romans,  provided  Rome  in  her  turn  gave  promise 
not  to  disturb  the  Goths  in  the  possession  of  all  the 
great  region  that  lay  on  the  east  side  of  the  Rhine 
and  Danube  rivers. 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WITCH 
PEOPLE 


ELDOM  has  a  man  lived 
in  stranger  or  more  stir- 
ring times  than  Athanaric 
the  Goth.  A  rough,  rude 
barbarian,  born  on  Gothic 
soil  and  bred  in  the  hatred 
of  all  that  was  Roman,  he 
was  destined  to  die  in  a 
Roman  city  and  be  given 
at  his  death  honors  which 
were  the  means  of  bring- 
ing his  people  into  friend- 
ly alliance  with  Rome. 
Nowhere  in  all  history  is 
there  a  stranger  tale. 
Surely  no  human  power 
could  move  the  man  who  had  made  the  greatest 
Roman  on  earth,  the  emperor  of  all  the  world,  come 
to  him.  So  Athanaric  must  have  thought  in  his 
pride,  and  the  story  is  that  in  the  years  after  the  con- 
ference on  the  river  he  grew  more  and  more  cruel. 

18 


<J^^ 


THE  WANDERING  OF  THE  PEOPLES      19 

His  hatred  of  the  Romans  increased,  and  he  pun- 
ished with  horrible  brutality  all  the  gentler  spirits 
among  his  own  people  who  sought  to  better  in  any 
way  the  rough,  rude  barbarism  in  which  he  had  been 
bred.  To  him  all  civilization  was  of  the  Romans,  and 
therefore  to  be  despised. 

But  a  more  than  mortal  force  was  guiding  the  des- 
tinies of  the  nations.  Athanaric  was  living  at  the 
beginning  of  the  period  of  the  wandering  of  the 
peoples,  when  a  strange  spirit  of  restlessness  seized 
many  tribes  and  nations,  and  they  left  their  homes 
and  crowded  one  upon  another,  pushing  their  neigh- 
bors hither  and  thither.  Europe  was  in  those  cen- 
turies a  chaos  of  languages  and  races  and  peoples, 
from  which  there  came  forth  our  modern  nations 
of  Spain  and  Italy,  France,  Germany,  and  Austria, 
Russia  and  Turkey.  It  was  this  tide  which  caught 
Athanaric  in  its  grasp,  and  swept  him,  hurled  him, 
almost  against  his  will  or  plan,  into  the  arms  of 
Rome ;  and  this  is  how  it  befell. 

There  came  to  Athanaric  in  his  mountain  domain 
tales  of  a  strange,  savage  people  from  the  east  who 
were  ravaging  and  destroying  the  homes  of  his 
Gothic  kinsfolk  many  hundred  miles  eastward  in  the 
regions  north  of  the  Caspian  and  the  Black  seas. 
Athanaric  marveled  that  any  people,  however  strong, 


20  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

should  be  able  to  conquer  these  fierce  and  warlike 
tribes  ;  but  he  did  not  dream  that  he  would  ever 
hear  more  of  them.  Soon  they  would  be  stopped  in 
their  march  and  driven  back  to  their  distant  homes. 
Probably  they  had  been  already,  for  news  traveled 
slowly,  and  the  word  had  come  by  one  tribe  and 
another  more  than  two  thousand   miles. 

In  another  year,  however,  the  reports  arrived  more 
frequently.  A  frightened  chieftain  came  twenty  days' 
journey  to  gain  a  promise  that  Athanaric  would  give 
him  his  aid,  should  the  Huns  march  westward  and 
attack  his  kingdom. 

"  Why  do  you  fear  ? "  questioned  Athanaric. 
V  They  have  still  by  your  own  story  eight  hundred 
miles,  more  than  eighty  days'  journey  for  such  a 
wandering  army,  before  they  can  reach  your  borders. 
Surely  they  will  be  turned  back  long  before  that." 

"Ah,  but  they  come  like  the  wind,  those  Huns," 
replied  the  chief.  M  Night  and  day  they  live  upon 
their  horses.  On  their  backs  they  take  their  meat 
and  drink ;  they  even  sleep  on  them  and  journey 
thus  by  night." 

"By  great  Odin,  you  are  all  driven  senseless  by 
your  fear,"  thundered  Athanaric  in  scorn.  (tI  am 
ashamed  of  you.  What  if  they  do  come  on  horses  ? 
What  if  they  are  good  fighters  ?   Have  you  not  driven 


THE  WITCH  PEOPLE  21 

back  many  tribes  ?    Have  you  not  held  your  lands 
against  many  enemies  ?   Where  is  the  courage  of  our 
forefathers  ?    What  would  they  think  of  those  who 
hold  the  name  of  Goth  if  they  saw  them  cringing' 
before  a  wandering  people  from  China  ?  " 

"You  do  not  know;  you  do  not  understand,"  re- 
plied the  chief.  "  Once  I  spoke  as  you  do  ;  once  I 
taunted  my  kinsfolk  with  cowardice.  But  now  I  know." 

"  But  what  is  it  that  you  know  ?  "  cried  Athanaric. 
M  You  shake  your  head  and  look  wise,  but  you  do 
not  say.  What  is  it  that  makes  these  Huns  so 
terrible  to  you  that  you  lose  your  manhood  and 
become  as  frightened   children  ?  " 

Then  the  chief  told  him.  This  was  no  human 
folk,  it  seemed,  that  was  fighting  its  way  nearer 
and  nearer.  It  was  a  witch  people,  born  of  witch 
women  and  evil  spirits.  Men  could  not  meet  them 
in  fair  fight,  for  the  awful  ugliness  of  their  faces  cast 
a  spell  upon  the  strongest  men  and  made  them  turn 
and  flee  rather  than  gaze  upon  them.  Moreover, 
there  was  no  stopping  their  progress,  for  an  evil 
spirit  was  leading  them.  Certain  of  the  Gothic  wise 
men  had  heard  the  story  of  how  the  Huns  came  in 
their  wanderings  to  the  banks  of  the  strip  of  water 
that  separates  Asia  and  Europe.  They  would  have 
halted   and   turned   another  way,  toward    northern 


22  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

China  or  the  plains  of  Russia.  "  Ah !  would  that 
they  had  halted  !  "  sighed  the  Gothic  chief.  "  But  a 
stag  suddenly  appeared  before  them  and  entered  the 
waters.  As  he  swam  across  he  kept  looking  back  as 
if  inviting  them  to  follow.  So  they  came  and  found 
that  what  they  had  thought  to  be  a  deep  and  trackless 
sea  was  a  shallow  strait.  An  evil  spirit  brought  them, 
and  mortal  power  will  not  be  able  to  turn  them  back." 

Athanaric  laughed  the  story  to  scorn. 

"  You  are  the  ones  who  are  bewitched,"  he  told 
the  chief,  "  and  by  your  own  foolishness." 

The  chief  went  back  to  his  own  land,  and  Atha- 
naric put  the  story  from  his  mind,  wondering  only 
that  so  brave  a  man  should  have  been  so  deceived. 
But  before  long  he  was  forced  to  heed,  for  his 
valleys  were  filled  with  a  constant  stream  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  who  were  fleeing  from  this 
terror  that  was  behind  them.  Whole  tribes  had  been 
seized  with  panic  at  the  coming  of  the  Huns,  and 
were  hastening  in  blind,  unreasoning  terror,  on,  on, 
on  to  the  river.  That  was  their  cry  as  they  passed 
through  the  land.  "  The  river,  the  river !  On  the 
other  side  of  the  river  we  shall  be  safe." 

"  But  the  Romans  dwell  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  They  are  your  enemies ;  they  will  make  you 
slaves,"  protested  Athanaric  and  his  people. 


CROSSING  THE  RIVER  23 

The  flying  tribes  did  not  stop  to  reply.  They  had 
but  one  thought,  — to  put  the  river  between  them  and 
this  terrible  witch  people.  The  Romans  might  en- 
slave them  ;  but  the  Huns  would  do  worse,  for  they 
had  the  evil  eye.  Month  after  month  it  went  on, 
and  though  they  had  not  seen  the  Huns,  yet  the 
fear  of  them  began  to  creep  into  the  hearts  of  Atha- 
naric's  own  people.  Neighboring  tribes  fled  into  the 
arms  of  the  Romans,  throwing  themselves,  as  they 
said,  on  Roman  mercy.  Roman  mercy !  that  was  a 
strange  word  in  the  mouths  of  the  Goths,  and  it 
came  to  be  a  sad  word,  for  it  took  from  them  all 
that  they  held  dear.  No  man  might  cross  the  river 
and  come  under  the  protection  of  Rome  who  did  not 
first  give  up  every  weapon  in  his  possession.  It  took 
from  them  their  sons  and  their  daughters,  who  were 
sold  away  in  slave  markets.  It  left  them  nothing,  in- 
deed, but  their  lives  and  the  lands  on  which  they 
lived.  The  long-haired  Goths  might  well  have  cut 
their  flaxen  locks  when  they  set  foot  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  river,  for  they  were  meaningless  as  a 
badge  of  freedom  on  Roman  soil. 

So  it  went  on  during  many  years,  for  peoples 
do  not  move  in  a  day,  and  the  Huns  would  pause  in 
their  ravages  for  one  year,  or  two,  when  they  came 
to  a  rich  and  fertile  valley,  and  then  the  wandering 


24  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

spirit  would  seize  them  and  they  would  press  on. 
Athanaric  met  them  in  battle  not  once  but  many 
times,  for  his  were  the  bravest  people  of  the  Goths, 
as  they  were  the  most  fierce  and  cruel,  and  they 
fought  with  spirit  even  though  their  hearts  were  filled 
with  a  nameless  fear.  But  they  were  defeated  and 
driven  farther  and  farther  into  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses, until  the  time  came  when  Athanaric  alone  of 
all  the  Gothic  chiefs  had  not  asked  protection  from 
the  Romans.  The  other  tribes  turned  against  him, 
looking  with  jealousy  on  his  lands,  till  the  proud 
old  chief  was  sore  beset  on  every  side. 

That  was  the  chance  for  Rome.  The  emperor 
(it  was  the  one  who  succeeded  Valens)  sent  from 
Constantinople,  the  eastern  capital  of  the  Empire,  an 
embassy  to  pay  respect  to  Athanaric  for  his  great 
name  and  fame,  and  to  offer  to  him  an  honorable 
treaty.  Athanaric  waited  long  before  he  yielded. 
His  people  with  one  accord  urged  him  to  accept. 
If  he  refused,  they  would  be  between  two  enemies, 
the  Huns,  who  were  ever  coming  nearer,  and  their 
Gothic  kinsfolk  who  had  turned  against  them.  More- 
over, it  was  an  honorable  treaty,  written  in  fair  terms. 
So  they  persuaded  him,  and  Athanaric  yielded.  He 
was  an  old  man  and  weary  of  war  and  fighting.  His 
promise  to  his  father  that  he  would  never  set  foot  on 


THE  PROMISE  BROKEN  25 

Roman  soil  had  grown  dim  with  the  years,  and  he 
told  himself  that  times  were  changed  by  the  coming 
of  the  Huns,  and  that  his  father  would  have  done 
the  same  in  his  place. 

The  emperor  came  out  several  miles  from  the  city 
to  meet  the  old  barbarian  chief,  and  gave  him  royal 
escort. 

"  Lo,  now  I  behold  what  I  have  so  often  heard 
with  unbelief,"  the  old  man  exclaimed,  as  he  gazed 
in  wonder  at  the  splendid  city. 

Turning  his  eyes  this  way  and  that,  and  beholding 
its  glorious  situation,  its  great  harbors  crowded  with 
vessels,  the  strength  and  beauty  of  its  walls  and 
buildings,  and  the  men  of  many  nations  who  thronged 
its  streets,  he  marveled,  and  exclaimed  again  in 
wonder,  "  The  emperor  is  without  doubt  a  god  upon 
earth,  and  he  who  lifts  a  hand  against  him  is  guilty 
of  his  own  blood." 

The  Romans  feasted  the  old  man  and  entertained 
him  with  all  magnificence.  Whether  he  was  con- 
tent in  the  emperor's  palace  —  this  old  Roman- 
hater —  we  do  not  know.  Whether  he  saw  that  his 
father  was  right,  and  mourned  his  broken  promise, 
he  never  told.  After  a  few  months'  residence  in 
Constantinople  he  died,  and  the  emperor  made  for 
him  a  funeral  of  extraordinary  magnificence.    The 


26  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

flower  of  the  Roman  army  bore  the  old  chief  to  his 
grave,  and  the  emperor  himself  in  his  royal  purple 
robes  rode  before  the  bier. 

Roman  friendship  proved,  as  the  father  of  Atha- 
naric  had  foretold,  an  evil  thing  for  a  barbarian 
people.  The  simple  Goths  were  so  pleased  by  the 
honor  that  had  been  paid  to  their  chief  that  they 
were  easily  led  into  a  closer  league  than  ever  before 
with  the  Romans.  The  emperor  had  given  a  gor- 
geous funeral ;  he  gained  an  army  of  many  thou- 
sand men,  and  it  was  through  the  yielding  of 
Athanaric,  through  his  consenting  to  set  foot  on 
Roman  soil,  that  the  evil  was  wrought. 

Wise  men  of  the  Goths  saw,  when  it  was  too  late, 
that  they  had  gone  too  far ;  but  by  that  time  their 
people  were  scattered  here  and  there,  fighting  Roman 
battles  and  obeying  the  commands  of  Roman  gen- 
erals, and  there  was  none  to  gather  them.  For  a 
whole  generation  they  served  the  Romans,  and  then 
from  their  midst  there  rose  a  leader  to  deliver  them, 
the  great  Alaric,  Alaric  the  Bold. 


ALARIC  THE  GOTH 


HIUDANS!  Thiudans! 
[The  king !  the  king  !  ]  " 
So  the  barbarians  shouted 
as  they  raised  on  the  shield, 
that  he  might  be  seen  of 
all  men,  their  newly  chosen 
king,  the  fair-haired  Alaric. 
They  might  shout  as  loudly 
as  they  pleased,  for  there 
were  no  Roman  spies  to 
hear.  They  had  come  away 
from  Rome,across  the  broad 
Danube,  and  on  their  own 
plains,  with  the  fresh  moun- 
tain winds  blowing  upon 
them,  they  were  renewing 
the  traditions  of  their  race  and  choosing  a  leader 
who  should  revive  the  glory  of  the  Gothic  name. 

Trained  in  Roman  legions  in  the  years  since  the 
death  of  Athanaric,  the  young  man  Alaric  had  not 
forgotten  that  he  was  born  on  an  island  in  the  Dan- 
ube.   He  had  not  lost  the  memory  of  the  chill  winds 

27 


28  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

of  the  north,  which  were  to  the  Goths  the  signs  that 
they  were  in  a  free  land.  He  had  learned  the  lessons 
of  war  from  the  leaders  of  his  enemy  ;  he  had  risen  to 
captaincy  and  had  won  notice  from  the  general  for 
his  bravery.  Now  at  the  call  of  his  people  he  had 
gladly  turned  his  back  on  the  warm  southland,  to 
have  the  breath  of  freedom  blow  across  his  face 
once  more,  and  behold !  to  his  astonishment  they 
had  chosen  him  king. 

It  was  no  secret  among  the  barbarians  that  this 
choice  was  of  a  leader  who  could  help  them  throw  off 
the  hated  Roman  yoke.  The  Romans  were  not  the 
proud  people  of  the  days  of  Drusus.  They  had  been 
too  fond  of  power  and  of  luxurious  living.  They  had 
had  too  many  strong  barbarians  to  fight  their  battles 
for  them,  and  had  become  content  to  sit  idle  in  their 
palaces,  drinking  and  gambling  and  scheming  for 
wealth  and  position.  The  Gothic  leaders  had  seen 
all  this ;  they  had  come  to  scorn  the  conquerors 
whom  once  they  had  feared ;  and  now  they  had 
chosen  this  tall,  fair-skinned  youth,  who  combined 
the  strength  of  the  barbarian  with  the  warlike  skill  of 
the  Roman  captain,  and  bore  moreover  the  prophetic 
name  Alaric,  Ala-reichs,  which  is  to  say,  All-ruler. 

The  words  of  the  old  record  concerning  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign  are  full  of  meaning.    "  The  new 


THE  MESSAGE  29 

king,  taking  counsel  with  his  people,  decided  that 
they  should  carve  out  for  themselves  new  kingdoms 
rather  than  through  sloth  continue  the  subjects  of 
others." 

Once  and  again  Alaric  led  his  people  forth  against 
the  Romans.  In  Greece  and  Constantinople  and  in 
all  the  eastern  possessions  of  Rome  the  name  of 
"Alaric  the  Barbarian"  became  a  word  of  terror. 
Then  there  came  to  him  a  strange  call.  As  he  was  j 
worshiping  in  a  sacred  grove  he  heard  a  voice  repeat- 
ing once  and  again  these  words,  u  Proceed  to  Rome, 
and  make  that  city  desolate." 

The  young  chief  brooded  over  the  message  for 
many  days,  pondering  whether  he  had  been  deceived 
by  a  dream.  But  ever  the  words  rang  in  his  ears, 
"  Proceed  to  Rome,  and  make  that  city  desolate," 
and  he  felt  a  power  within  him  urging  him  irresis- 
tibly on.  He  marshaled  his  armies  and  led  them 
westward  over  the  central  plains  of  Europe,  ravaging 
as  he  went.  The  Romans  thought  the  march  only 
one  more  barbarian  invasion.  The  Goths  were  tak- 
ing with  them  their  women  and  children,  but  that  was 
the  curious  custom  of  all  barbarian  nations.  Their 
wars  were  for  conquest  of  land,  not  for  slaughter.  If 
they  won  the  battles  they  would  stay  and  occupy  the 
land  with  their  wives  and  their  children.    Even  the 


30  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Gothic  army  did  not  believe  that  the  purpose  of 
Alaric  would  be  carried  out.  Until  he  came  to  the 
passes  of  the  Alps,  to  the  gates  of  Italy  itself,  they 
doubted  whether  it  could  be  possible  that  any  barba- 
rian nation  would  be  permitted  to  meet  the  Romans 
in  their  own  land.  They  had  suffered  many  defeats 
by  the  way,  and  they  had  lost  many  brave  warriors. 
Now  the  day  had  come  when  they  must  choose 
whether  they  would  pass  over  into  Italy  or  turn  back 
to  settle  once  again  in  their  chill  northern  plains. 

Alaric  called  a  council,  and  the  record  of  it,  writ- 
ten in  Latin  on  a  roll  of  parchment,  has  been  pre- 
served to  this  day. 

u  The  long-haired  fathers  of  the  Gothic  nation, 
their  fur-clad  senators  marked  with  many  an  honor- 
able scar,  assembled.  The  old  men  leaned  on  their 
tall  clubs.  One  of  the  most  venerable  of  these  vet- 
erans arose,  fixed  his  eyes  upon  the  ground,  shook 
his  white  and  shaggy  locks,  and  spoke : 

1  Thirty  years  have  now  elapsed  since  first  we 
crossed  the  Danube  and  confronted  the  might  of 
Rome.  But  never,  believe  me  in  this,  O  Alaric,  have 
the  odds  lain  so  heavily  against  us  as  now.  Trust 
the  old  chief  who,  like  a  father,  once  dandled  thee 
in  his  arms,  who  gave  thee  thy  first  tiny  quiver. 
Often  have  I,  in  vain,  admonished  thee  to  keep  the 


THE  GOTHIC  COUNCIL  31 

treaty  with  Rome,  and  remain  safely  within  the 
limits  of  the  eastern  realm.  But  now,  at  any  rate, 
while  thou  still  art  able,  return,  flee  the  Italian  soil. 
Why  talk  to  us  perpetually  of  the  fruitful  vines  of 
Etruria,  of  the  Tiber,  and  of  Rome  ?  If  our  fathers 
have  told  us  aright,  that  city  is  protected  by  the  Im- 
mortal Gods,  lightnings  are  darted  from  afar  against 
the  presumptuous  invader,  and  fires,  heaven-kindled, 
flit  before  its  walls.' 

"Alaric  burst  in  upon  the  old  man's  speech  with 
fiery  brow  and  scowling  eyes  : 

M  '  If  age  had  not  bereft  thee  of  reason,  old  dotard, 
I  would  punish  thee  for  these  insults.  Shall  I,  who 
have  put  so  many  emperors  to  flight,  listen  to  thee, 
prating  of  peace  ?  No,  in  this  land  I  will  reign  as 
conqueror,  or  be  buried  after  defeat.  Only  Rome 
remains  to  be  overcome.  In  the  day  of  our  weakness 
and  calamity  we  were  terrible  to  our  foes.  Now  in 
our  power  shall  we  turn  our  backs  on  those  same  ene- 
mies ?  No  !  Besides  all  other  reasons  for  hope  there 
is  certainty  of  divine  help.  Forth  from  the  grove 
has  come  once  more  a  clear  voice,  heard  of  many, 
"  Break  off  all  delays,  Alaric.  This  very  year  if  thou 
lingerest  not,  thou  shalt  pierce  through  the  Alps  into 
Italy ;  thou  shalt  penetrate  to  the  city  itself."  ' 

uSo  he  spoke,  and  drew  up  his  army  for  battle/ ' 


ALARIC  DESCENDING  ON  ROME 


32 


BARBARIANS  BEFORE  ROME  33 

The  victory  must  have  been  with  the  Goths  that 
clay,  for  the  army  went  on  through  the  passes  into 
Italy,  and  ere  long  we  hear  of  the  barbarians  as  before 
the  walls  of  Rome. 

Then  the  whole  world  was  in  terror.  That  bar- 
barians, skin-clothed  barbarians,  should  have  come  to 
the  gates  of  the  great  city,  for  six  hundred  years  the 
ruler  of  the  world,  was  a  surprise  to  the  barbarians 
themselves.  To  the  Romans  it  was  as  if  the  sky 
had  fallen. 

Day  after  day  the  Gothic  army  lay  encamped  be- 
fore the  city,  guarding  the  entrances  that  no  food 
should  enter  by  land  or  water ;  and  hour  after  hour 
the  Roman  senate  watched  the  north  for  the  looked- 
for  help  from  the  army  of  the  emperor,  but  none 
came.  First  the  allowance  of  food  to  each  person 
was  reduced  to  one  half ;  then  to  one  third.  Two 
noble  ladies,  who  were  entitled  to  draw  from  the  im- 
perial storehouses,  gave  of  their  portions  to  the 
people  ;  but  it  was  but  a  pittance  among  so  many. 

Then  the  proud  Roman  nobles  sent  out  an  em- 
bassy to  Alaric.  For  all  their  need  they  did  not  cringe 
or  beg.  There  is  the  sound  in  their  words  of  the 
old  days  when  Rome  was  mistress  of  all  the  world. 

"The  Roman  people,"  the  message  read,  "are 
prepared    to  make   peace    on   moderate  terms,  but 


34  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

they  are  yet  prepared  for  war.  They  have  arms  in 
their  hands,  and  from  long  practice  in  their  use 
they  have  no  reason  to  dread  the  battle." 

Alaric  heard  the  words  with  a  shout  of  laughter, 
and  answered  them  with  a  Gothic  proverb,  l*  The 
thicker  the  grass,  the  easier  mown."  The  cultured 
Romans  must  have  shrunk  back  with  disgust  from 
the  rough,  insolent  barbarian  with  whom  they  were 
forced  to  treat.  But  their  plight  was  desperate,  and 
they  must  curb  their  pride  and  stay  till  the  rude 
mirth  had  ceased  and  a  fitting  reply  had  been  given 
to  their  message. 

"  Deliver  to  me  all  the  gold  that  your  city  contains, 
all  the  silver,  all  the  treasures  that  may  be  moved, 
and  in  addition  all  your  slaves  of  barbarian  origin ; 
otherwise  I  desist  not  from  the  siege." 

"  But  if  you  take  all  these  things,"  said  one  of  the 
ambassadors,  "  what  do  you  leave  for  the  citizens  ?  " 

"Your  lives,"  returned  Alaric  with  a  grim  smile. 

The  message  threw  the  Roman  senate  into  the 
blackest  despair.  What  was  there  left  that  they  could 
do  ?  The  emperor  had  deserted  them  ;  even  the  God 
of  the  Christians,  to  whom  they  had  recently  sworn 
allegiance,  seemed  to  have  forgotten  them.  There 
was  but  one  chance  left.  Perhaps  their  heathen  gods 
who  had  helped  their  fathers  in  battle  would  aid 


THE  RANSOM  35 

them  in  this  extremity.  It  is  a  weird  scene  that 
comes  before  us.  On  the  Capitoline  Hill,  with 
Christian  churches  all  about  them,  the  Roman  senate 
assembled  to  see  the  old  ceremonies  practiced,  the 
old  fires  lighted,  and  the  omens  watched,  by  priests 
of  the  heathen  faith  which  had  been  for  a  generation 
discredited.  The  hour  passed  and  no  help  came.  A 
second  time  the  gates  were  opened  and  a  train  of 
suppliant  Romans  went  forth  to  the  camp  of  the 
conqueror  to  see  what  terms  could  be  obtained. 

It  is  a  curious  list  of  things  which  the  barbarians 
wanted.  It  reminds  us  that  they  were  after  all  but 
children  —  forest  children — who  fought  because  the 
desire  for  victory  was  on  them,  but  knew  not  what  to 
do  with  the  power  they  won  save  to  purchase  for 
themselves  toys  and  gay-colored  trifles.  Five  thou- 
sand pounds  of  gold,  thirty  thousand  pounds  of  sil- 
ver, four  thousand  silken  tunics,  three  thousand  hides 
dyed  in  scarlet,  and  three  thousand  pounds  of  pepper, 
— these  things  Alaric  would  take  in  exchange  for  the 
city  which  he  had  conquered  but  had  not  entered. 

The  Romans  went  back  to  see  how  they  could  get 
these  things.  Was  there  as  much  gold  in  the  city  as 
the  barbarians  demanded  ?  With  picturesque  justice 
they  turned  on  the  gold  and  silver  idols,  images  of 
the  gods  to  whom  they  had  made  their  appeal  in  vain, 


36  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

and  threw  them  into  the  melting  pots  to  make  up 
the  required  weight.  The  story  goes  that  they  even 
cast  in  the  statue  of  Valor,  the  symbol  of  Roman 
bravery  and  power,  and  that  from  that  day  valor 
went  out  from  among  the  Romans,  and  their  cour- 
age left  them  forever. 

So  ended  the  first  siege  of  Rome.  No  swords  had 
been  crossed ;  not  a  drop  of  blood  had  been  shed. 
With  his  cartloads  of  treasure  Alaric  returned  to 
the  rich  provinces  of  northern  Italy,  and,  as  humbly 
as  though  he  were  not  a  conqueror  feared  of  all  men, 
sent  to  the  Roman  emperor  to  ask  that  a  portion  of 
land  be  allotted  to  him  and  his  tribe,  that  they  and 
their  wives  and  children  might  dwell  there.  It  is 
the  strangest  part  of  the  whole  strange  tale  of  the 
barbarian  invasions  of  Italy,  this  reverence  for  the 
office  of  Roman  emperor  and  for  the  name  of  Rome. 
Rome  had  so  long  been  the  height  of  earthly  power 
to  the  barbarians  that  even  when  it  was  but  a  shadow 
of  its  former  self,  even  when  it  was  conquered  by 
force  and  lay  in  their  power,  the  simple  barbarians 
held  back  in  awe  and  asked  as  suppliants  of  the  weak, 
spoiled  Roman  emperors  that  they  be  granted  the 
land  which  they  had  already  seized.  And  the  Roman 
emperors  in  their  foolishness  refused,  shutting  their 
eyes  to  the  chance  that  was  before  them  of  saving 


THE  SACK  OF  ROME  37 

their  nation  and  their  city.  Two  years  the  emperor 
dallied  with  Alaric,  promising  this  and  that,  and  fail- 
ing to  carry  out  his  word,  and  at  last  breaking  off  the 
negotiations  altogether. 

Then  Alaric  marched  once  more  on  Rome.  This 
time  he  did  not  stop  outside  the  walls  to  blockade  by 
famine.  The  barbarians  were  not  in  the  mood  for 
delay.  They  broke  open  the  gates  and  rushed  into 
the  city,  and  Rome  was  at  their  mercy.  The  orders 
of  Alaric  are  just  and  merciful.  No  sacred  buildings 
were  to  be  destroyed,  and  any  one  who  entered  a 
church  was  to  be  secure  from  harm.  Human  life 
was  to  be  spared  as  far  as  possible. 

How  far  his  orders  were  carried  out  by  the  bar- 
barian hordes  we  do  not  know.  No  record  has  come 
down  to  us  of  what  happened  in  those  days  of  Gothic 
pillage,  save  that  many  palaces  and  beautiful  build- 
ings were  burned.  It  was  not  the  actual  damage  that 
they  wrought  that  made  the  sack  of  Rome  by  Alaric 
and  the  Goths  so  terrible  ;  it  was  the  fact  that  Rome, 
the  center  of  the  world,  the  sign  of  law  and  order 
and  civilization,  could  be  taken  by  rude  barbarian 
hordes.  The  old  order  was  passing  away,  and  none 
could  tell  what  the  new  was  to  be ;  but  that  there 
were  grievous  and  troubled  times  in  store  for  Europe 
no  wise  man  doubted. 


ALARIC'S     BURIAL 


38 


THE  DEATH  OF  ALARIC 


39 


Three  days  only  the  barbarians  stayed  in  Rome, 
and  then  they  wandered  southward.  In  the  south  of 
Italy,  before  he  had  carried  out  any  of  his  great  plans 
of  conquest  and  occupation  of  the  land,  suddenly  death 
came  to  Alaric.  Perhaps  it  was  the  dread  Roman 
fever  which  laid  the  northern  barbarian  low.  There 
he  died,  and  his  people  were  left,  as  children  with- 
out a  guide.  Bitterly  they  mourned  the  loss  of  their 
great  ruler,  and  before  they  turned  to  find  their  way 
back  to  the  north  they  buried  him  in  the  land  which 
he  had  conquered. 

Lest  the  enemy  should  find  his  body  and  dishonor 
it,  they  laid  him  in  the  bed  of  a  river.  They  had 
forced  the  captives  whom  they  had  taken  at  Rome 
to  build  a  dam  by  which  the  stream  might  be  turned 
from  its  course.  Here,  in  the  dead  of  night,  they 
laid  the  body  of  their  leader  in  a  grave  filled  with 
trophies  and  treasures  which  he  had  won  from  the 
Romans.  When  the  rude  ceremony  was  over,  the 
captives  were  ordered  to  turn  back  the  waters,  and 
after  they  had  done  their  work  they  were  put  to 
death,  that  none  of  Roman  blood  should  know  where 
the  barbarian  chief  lay. 

So  died,  in  the  year  410,  Alaric  the  Goth,  the  great 
barbarian  who  sounded  for  the  first  time  the  note  of 
doom  to  the  Roman  Empire. 


ATTILA  THE  SCOURGE  OF  GOD 

THAT  was  what  the  writers  of  the  Christian 
faith  called  him,  for  they  believed  that  the 
coming  of  Attila  the  Hun  and  his  barbarian  hordes 
into  the  fair  provinces  on  the  western  side  of  the 
great  rivers  was  a  judgment  on  the  nations  of 
Europe,  a  visitation  sent  upon  them  in  punishment 
for  their  sins. 

It  was  fifty  years  since  Athanaric  and  his  Gothic 
tribes  had  been  forced  by  the  Huns  into  the  arms 
of  Rome,  and  for  all  that  half  century  the  danger  of 
Hunnish  invasion  had  hung  over  Europe  like  a 
thundercloud,  black  and  forbidding.  The  storm 
might  break  here,  it  might  break  there.  None 
could  tell,  for  the  Huns  fought  not  by  plan  nor  by 
reason,  but  for  sudden  impulse,  for  a  mad  spirit  of 
restlessness,  for  a  fierce  lust  of  battle. 

The  Romans  kept  them  at  bay  for  a  time  by  pay- 
ment of  gold.  They  found  that  this  barbarian  mob, 
clad  in  dingy  skin  tunics  and  living  on  raw  meat 
and  uncooked  grain,  who  chose  to  make  themselves 
hideous  by  gashing  their  cheeks  with  the  sword  in 
infancy  that  their  beards   should  not  grow,  —  this 

40 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  HUNS  41 

people,  more  barbarous  than  barbarism  itself,  had 
developed  in  the  half  century  of  their  contact  with 
civilized  peoples  one  engrossing,  absorbing  passion, 
the  greed  for  gold.  They  did  not  know  how  to 
measure  its  value,  for  it  was  new  to  them.  The  first 
year  that  they  threatened,  the  Romans  bought  them 
off  from  attacking  any  part  of  the  Empire  for  nine- 
teen pounds  of  gold.  Nineteen  pounds  to  keep  back 
a  nation  of  ninety  thousand  warriors !  And  it  was 
but  a  few  years  since  Alaric  the  Goth  had  demanded 
and  received  five  thousand  pounds  of  gold,  thirty 
thousand  pounds  of  silver,  and  much  treasure  beside, 
as  a  price  for  the  safety  of  Rome.  But  the  Huns 
learned.  Twenty  years  later  the  ransom  money  was 
three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  and  then  in  a  single 
year  it  was  doubled. 

That  was  the  year  when  in  the  chronicles  of  the 
nations  it  was  written  that  "  the  kingdom  of  the 
Huns  passed  unto  Attila." 

Attila  was  a  typical  Hun,  little  in  stature  but 
broad-shouldered  and  deep-chested,  with  swarthy 
skin  and  small,  beadlike  black  eyes  which  were 
never  still  but  darted  fierce  glances  to  this  side  and 
that,  as  if,  says  the  Roman  narrator,  "  he  felt  him- 
self to  be  lord  of  all  and  was  perpetually  asking  of 
those  about  him,  '  Who  is  he  that  shall  deliver  you 


42  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

out  of  my  hand  V"  He  delighted  to  inspire  men 
with  fear  of  what  he  would  do  to  them.  It  was  part 
of  his  fierce,  unquenchable  pride  that  every  one 
should  come  into  his  presence  with  dread.  He 
longed  to  be  a  terror  to  the  whole  world.  Nothing 
pleased  him  more  than  to  be  called  "The  Destroyer" ; 
and  to  see  the  proud  rulers  of  the  proudest  nations 
on  earth  cringe  before  him,  —  that  was  the  aim  and 
ambition  of  his  life.  Attila  probably  never  spent  a 
happier  hour  than  when  he  sat  at  his  banquet  table 
and  saw  seated  before  him  suppliant  ambassadors 
from  the  two  great  capitals  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
It  was  part  of  his  pleasure  that  the  Romans  never 
passed  a  more  unpleasant  day. 

The  ambassadors  had  started  from  Rome  and 
Constantinople,  each  party  without  knowledge  of  the 
other,  with  orders  to  seek  the  newly  elected  king  of 
the  Huns  wherever  he  might  be,  and  confer  with 
him  about  the  tribute  money.  The  Roman  nobles 
expected  it  to  be  a  disagreeable  mission.  They  did 
not  dream  it  was  to  be  as  unpleasant  as  Attila  suc- 
ceeded in  making  it  for  them. 

Their  first  task  was  to  find  the .  Hunnish  king. 
They  had  heard  that  he  held  some  sort  of  rude 
court  away  off  on  the  Hungarian  plains ;  but  as 
they  came  nearer  the  frontiers  of  the  Roman  Empire 


\ 


THE  JOURNEY  43 

they  found  that  the  barbarian  king  had  been  on  a 
plundering  expedition  and  was  only  a  couple  of  days' 
journey  ahead  of  them.  Every  city  on  the  route  was 
deserted  and  empty.  The  inhabitants  had  fled  at  the 
approach  of  the  Huns,  or  had  been  driven  out  by 
the  sword  if  they  had  lingered  too  long,  and  they 
had  not  yet  dared  to  creep  back,  for  fear  the  enemy 
might  return. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Danube  the  Romans  came 
up  with  the  barbarians.  Every  road  was  crowded 
with  Huns,  and  the  river  was  full  of  unwieldy  boats 
fashioned  from  hollow  logs,  in  which  ferrymen  were 
transporting  the  people  to  the  farther  bank.  Roman 
gold  gained  for  the  travelers  a  speedy  passage,  and 
on  the  second  day  after  crossing  the  river  they  came 
in  sight  of  the  tents  of  Attila. 

Rejoicing  that  they  were  to  be  spared  the  long 
journey  into  the  interior,  the  ambassadors  began 
to  pitch  their  tents  on  a  hilltop  near  by,  but  their 
preparations  were  speedily  interrupted.  A  party  of 
Hunnish  horsemen  dashed  up  the  hill,  and  their 
leader  demanded  furiously  what  the  Romans  meant 
by  presuming  to  camp  on  such  high  land.  "  It  would 
be  quite  improper,"  he  declared,  "for  the  Roman 
ambassadors  to  occupy  the  hill  while  Attila  was  below 
in  the  valley.' ■ 


44  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

This  was  but  the  first  of  a  series  of  petty  humilia- 
tions which  Attila  took  a  fiendish  pleasure  in  impos- 
ing on  the  Roman  nobles.  He  dallied  so  long  about 
granting  any  audience  to  them  that  they  seriously 
feared  lest  he  should  refuse  to  treat  with  them  at  all. 
Then  he  allowed  them  to  see  him  and  accepted  their 
gifts,  but  refused  to  corrie  to  any  discussion  of  terms. 
Finally  he  sent  a  message  to  their  tent,  commanding 
them  to  go  to  his  "  palace  "  in  the  interior,  where 
he  would  give  them  his  answer. 

We  can  imagine  the  disgust  of  the  Romans  at 
being  forced  to  plunge  into  the  wilderness  at  the 
caprice  of  this  rude  barbarian.  But  they  had  no 
choice ;  on  their  success  depended  the  peace  of 
Europe  for  a  twelvemonth.  It  was  a  forsaken 
country  through  which  they  must  travel,  and  they 
suffered  many  hardships  on  the  way.  They  had 
to  cross  three  great  rivers  and  ford  innumerable 
streams.  It  was  the  flood  time  of  the  year,  and 
even  the  roads  were  little  better  than  swamps. 
They  could  buy  nothing  in  the  villages  along  the 
way  but  a  kind  of  grain  called  millet. 

After  they  had  journeyed  in  this  fashion  for  seven 
days  and  nights,  and  were  rejoicing  that  one  more  day 
would  bring  them  to  their  destination,  they  received 
abrupt  orders  to  halt.    They  had  been  traveling  too 


THE  BANQUET  45 

fast,  it  seemed,  and  had  got  ahead  of  Attila.  He 
was  to  come  over  the  road  which  they  were  now  to 
take,  and  it  was  part  of  his  pride  that  the  Romans 
must  not  precede  him  even  on  the  road  to  his 
own  home. 

While  the  Romans  waited,  with  ill-concealed  im- 
patience, in  the  miserable  little  Hungarian  village,  they 
met  the  other  Roman  embassy,  recently  arrived  from 
Constantinople  and  held  up,  as  were  their  companions 
in  misery,  "until  the  royal  bridegroom  should  arrive. 
Attila's  pride  might  well  be  satisfied  when  embassies 
from  the  two  capitals  of  the  world  were  forced  to 
wait  until  he  came  through  and  gave  them  permission 
to  follow  in  his  train.  They  must  stand  by  and  see 
the  barbarian  monarch  served  from  a  silver  table, 
held  up  before  .  him  that  he  might  eat  and  drink 
without  dismounting  from  his  horse.  At  last,  when 
he  gave  the  word,  they  might  come  on  to  the  village 
where  he  had  established  his  court,  and  on  the 
second  day  of  their  stay  they  were  invited  to  a  banquet. 

"  Punctually  at  three  o'clock,"  writes  the  ambas- 
sador, "we  went  to  the  dinner  and  stood  on  the 
threshold  of  Attila's  palace.  According  to  the  cus- 
tom of  the  country  the  cupbearers  brought  us  a 
bowl  of  wine  that  we  might  drink  and  pray  for  the 
good  luck  of  our  host  before  sitting  ojown." 


46  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Attila  half  sat,  half  reclined  on  a  couch  behind  a 
table  raised  above  the  board.  He  would  not  demean 
himself  by  being  on  a  level  with  his  guests.  Nor 
did  he  converse  with  them.  Throughout  the  meal 
he  sat  silent  and  sullen  at  the  head  of  the  table. 

When  the  feasting  was  over,  and  the  singers  and 
harpists  came  in  and  chanted  verses  in  praise  of  his 
victories  and  his  might,  his  face  dijd  not  change. 
Clowns  came  and  did  their  tricks  and  made  their 
jests,  and  all  the  company  were  in  roars  of  laughter, 
but  Attila  did  not  smile.  With  unmoved  face  he 
sat  silent  while  the  others  shouted  with  merriment, 
until  at  last  the  mirth  was  stilled  and  the  Romans 
sat  silent  and  uncomfortable,  shooting  furtive  glances 
at  their  strange  host. 

The  Huns  remained  at  the  table  drinking  till  far 
into  the  night,  but  the  Romans  slipped  away  from 
the  wild,  barbarous  orgy.  Three  days  later  they  were 
dismissed  with  their  business  accomplished,  and  turned 
their  backs  with  rejoicing  on  the  barbarian  court. 

Attila  was  content  for  ten  years  to  receive  an  ever- 
increasing  tribute  from  the  Romans.  Then,  making 
alliance  with  the  Vandals  in  the  west  and  the  Franks 
in  the  north,  he  prepared  to  pour  his  barbarian 
hordes  into  the  plains  of  Europe  and  wipe  out  the 
civilized  nations  that  occupied  the  land. 


47 


48  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

The  great  question  was,  Would  the  Romans  and 
Goths  unite  against  the  Huns  ?  We  to-day  can  see 
that  on  the  answer  to  that  question  hung  the  fate  of 
Europe.  If  they  did,  Europe  might  be  saved ;  if 
they  did  not,  Europe  and  civilization  were  doomed. 
Attila  feared  that  they  would  combine,  and  did  his 
best  to  prevent  it.  To  the  Gothic  king  he  sent  mes- 
sengers to  explain  that  this  was  the  time  to  destroy 
Rome,  the  hated  conqueror,  and  to  the  emperor  he 
represented  that  this  was  a  chance  to  drive  out  the 
Goths,  against  whom  they  had  so  long  waged  war, 
and  regain  their  supremacy.  But  the  Romans  and 
Goths  had  learned  wisdom  since  the  days  of  Alaric. 

The  Gothic  peoples  had  come  into  Italy  by  means 
of  the  sword.  Then  they  had  lost  their  great  leader 
and  been  left  in  the  land  they  had  coveted,  a  vast, 
unwieldy  army  burdened  with  long  wagon  trains  of 
treasure  and  great  camps  of  women  and  children. 
"  Before  two  years  were  ended,"  says  the  historian, 
"  God  moved  the  hearts  of  the  invaders  to  occupy 
the  land  without  wasting  it.  The  wandering  hosts 
settled  down  and  became  nations  dwelling  under 
their  kings  on  conquered  soil." 

So  the  two  races  had  dwelt  together,  and  a  new 
generation  had  been  born  to  each.  They  had  come 
to  know  each  other,  and  though  there  had  not  always 


BARBARIAN  AGAINST  BARBARIAN       49 

been  peace  between  them,  yet  the  dark-haired  Italian 
noble  had  found  that  his  tall,  fair-haired,  fair-skinned 
neighbor  from  the  north  was  not  so  different  from 
himself  as  he  had  supposed.  The  Goths  were  the 
noblest  of  all  the  barbarian  nations,  and  if  it  took 
them  some  time  to  learn  all  the  grace  of  civilization 
from  their  cultured  neighbors,  yet  they  brought  with 
them  from  the  north  a  spirit  of  freedom,  a  purity, 
and  an  unspoiled  strength  which  the  Romans  were 
forced  to  recognize,  and  to  which  they  were  glad  to 
turn  in  this  hour  of  need,  when  this  Hunnish  people, 
who  were  so  barbarian  that  it  made  the  Goths  seem 
in  comparison  like  their  own  race,  threatened  to  come 
down  upon  them. 

So  the  Goths  and  the  Romans  united  their  armies 
and  called  in  their  allies,  and  in  July  of  the  year 
451  they  met  Attila  and  his  forces  on  the  battle  field 
of  Chalons,  midway  between  the  north  and  the  south. 
Such  a  confusion  of  all  the  barbarian  nations  was 
never  seen  before  nor  since.  On  the  one  side  were 
the  Romans,  a  mere  shadow  people  in  numbers  or 
power  as  compared  to  their  great  allies,  the  East 
Goths  and  West  Goths,  the  Alans  and  the  Saxons 
and  the  Britons,  those  barbarian  peoples  who  were 
so  fast  being  transformed  into  civilized  nations,  and 
who  were  soon  to  take  up  that  work  of  maintaining 


50  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

law  and  order  which  the  Romans  were  laying  down. 
Against  this  army  of  nations,  which  had  been  united 
only  by  their  common  danger,  stood  the  Huns  and 
the  allies  from  the  Vandals  and  Franks  and  Ostro- 
goths whom  they  had  been  able  to  gather  about 
their  standard.  It  was  a  conflict  of  barbarian  against 
barbarian,  with  every  nation  and  tribe  represented ; 
and  the  more  noble  barbarians  won.  Attila  and  his 
Huns  used  all  the  strange  customs  of  fighting  with 
which  they  had  been  wont  to  terrify  the  European 
world.  They  swept  down  from  the  neighboring  hills 
with  wild,  discordant  cries.  Dashing  through  the 
lines  of  soldiery  on  horseback,  they  threw  their  lassos 
or  nets  round  the  bodies  of  their  opponents,  making 
them  helpless.  "  It  was  a  battle,"  says  an  eyewitness, 
"which  for  ruthlessness,  for  multitude  of  men,  for 
horror,  and  for  stubbornness  has  not  in  all  stories  of 
similar  encounters  since  the  world  began  a  parallel. " 
Night  fell,  and  the  weary  hosts  were  forced  by  the 
darkness  to  cease  fighting ;  but  neither  Goth  nor 
Roman  nor  Hun  knew  till  morning  which  side  had 
been  victorious.  When  day  dawned  the  Goths  and 
Romans,  seeing  that  the  Huns  did  not  venture  forth 
from  their  camp,  concluded  that  the  victory  was 
theirs.  But  Attila,  though  so  many  of  his  followers 
had  been  cut  down  that  he  dared  not  renew  the 


ATTILA  HARD  PRESSED 


51 


battle,  yet  did  not  admit  defeat,  "  but  clashed  his 
arms,  sounded  his  trumpets,  and  continually  threat- 
ened a  fresh  attack.  As  a  lion  close  pressed  by  his 
hunters,  ramps  up  and  down  before  the  entrance  to 
the  cave,  and  neither  dares  make  a  spring,  nor  yet 
ceases  to  frighten  all  the  neighborhood  with  his 
roarings,  so  did  that  most  warlike  king,  though 
hemmed  in,  trouble  his  conquerors.  The  Goths  and 
Romans  accordingly  called  a  council  of  war  and 
deliberated  what  was  to  be  done  with  their  worsted 
foe.  As  he  had  no  store  of  provisions,  and  as  he 
had  so  posted  his  archers  within  the  boundaries  of 
his  camp  as  to  rain  a  shower  of  missiles  on  an 
advancing  assailant,  they  decided  not  to  attempt  a 
storm,  but  to  weary  him  out  by  a  blockade.  It  is 
said  that  seeing  his  desperate  plight  the  Hunnish 
king  had  constructed  a  funeral  pyre  of  horses'  sad- 
dles, determined,  if  the  enemy  should  break  into 
his  camp,  to  hurl  himself  headlong  into  the  flames, 
that  none  should  boast  himself  and  say,  ■  I  have 
wounded  Attila,'  nor  that  the  lord  of  so  many  nations 
should  fall  alive  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies." 

Attila  was  not  forced  to  this  desperate  death. 
Though  the  victory  was  with  the  Goths  it  was  not 
an  unmixed  triumph.  They  had  lost  their  king  and 
many  thousands  of  men,  and  they  deemed  it  wise 


52 


BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 


not  to  press  their  success  farther,  but  retired  in  their 
triumph,  leaving  the  defeated  chief  to  return  with  his 
conquered  army  beyond  the  Rhine.  Both  sides  had 
suffered  immense  losses,  and  the  Hunnish  invaders 


had  received  for  the  first  time  a  check  in  their  march 
of  destruction. 

Attila  returned  to  his  log  hut,  and  there  on  the 
vast,  lonely  plains  of  Hungary  he  spent  the  winter 
brooding  over  his  defeat  and  nursing  his  wounded 
pride.  He  became  more  silent  and  sullen  than  ever, 
until  his  courtiers  came  to  be  afraid  of  the  motion- 
less figure  of  the  king,  who  seemed  hardly  to  heed 


ATTILA  THE  DESTROYER  53 

whether  he  was  alone  or  whether  a  company  was 
about  him,  but  sat  ever  looking,  looking  toward  the 
world  beyond  the  river,  toward  Rome,  which  he 
longed  to  destroy. 

With  the  coming  of  spring  Attila's  energy  re- 
turned, and  he  became  once  more  the  active,  alert 
general,  planning  an  Italian  campaign  by  which  he 
hoped  to  revive  his  fallen  prestige  and  regain  his 
position  as  a  terror  to  the  world.  He  was  to  succeed 
in  part  and  for  a  time,  but  he  was  never  to  sweep 
things  before  him  as  he  had  in  the  days  when  the 
Huns  were  surrounded  by  a  mysterious  terror  far  be- 
yond their  actual  power  of  destruction.  The  Italian 
cities  of  the  Venetian  plains  were  forced  to  yield,  but 
it  was  after  long  sieges  and  sharp  battles.  Still  it 
was  a  terrible  invasion,  and  Rome  began  to  tremble 
lest  once  more  she  should  find  herself  in  the  power 
of  barbarians. 

The  cities  which  Attila  was  conquering  were  the 
most  beautiful  cities  in  all  Europe.  Here  had  been 
collected  treasures  of  art,  statues  of  the  golden  age 
of  Greek  and  Roman  sculpture,  paintings,  beautiful 
vases,  all  preserved  in  the  splendid  palaces  and 
churches  and  public  buildings  of  Aquileia,  Verona, 
Milan,  and  Pavia.  In  these  marble  palaces  and  amid 
these  priceless  treasures  Attila  and  his  Huns  camped. 


54  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

To-day  we  cherish  in  museums  the  fragments  whicK 
they  left  when  they  had  thrown  aside  and  smashed 
what  was  in  their  way  or  did  not  for  some  reason 
please  them.  In  the  palace  where  he  stayed  in  Milan, 
Attila  came  one  day,  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings 
through  the  great  salons,  upon  a  picture  which  filled 
him  with  rage.  It  was  entitled  "The  Triumph  of 
Rome  over  the  Barbarians,"  and  pictured  the  two 
Roman  emperors  sitting  on  their  golden  thrones,  while 
conquered  Scythians  crouched  at  their  feet  in  abject 
subjection.  The  l!  Scythians  "  were  without  doubt 
Goths,  and  the  period  of  the  picture  at  least  a  cen- 
tury before  Attila's  time  ;  but  Attila  took  it  as  a  per- 
sonal insult  to  his  race.  With  one  of  those  strange 
impulses  which  make  us  see  what  shrewdness  and 
humor  were  combined  in  this  world  conqueror  with 
his  more  terrible  qualities,  he  did  not  destroy  the  pic- 
ture, but  called  an  artist,  whom  he  commanded  to 
paint  a  companion  picture  on  the  opposite  wall.  In 
this  painting  Attila  sat  on  his  throne,  and  the  two 
emperors  knelt  humbly  before  him,  one  with  a  huge 
sack  of  tribute  money  still  on  his  shoulder,  the  other 
pouring  out  before  him  a  heap  of  gold  pieces  from 
another  bag. 

Another  side  of  the  character  of  this  strange  man 
was  soon  to  be  shown.    It  was  time  for  him  to  turn 


ATTILA  BEFORE  THE  POPE 


55 


56  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

southward  in  his  march  toward  Rome.  As  Alaric 
had  paused  in  the  passes  of  Switzerland,  so  he 
paused,  and  his  counselors,  filled  with  the  awe 
which  every  barbarian  host  felt  when  it  came  face  to 
face  with  the  world  power  which  they  had  so  long 
reverenced,  reminded  him  of  the  fate  of  Alaric  which 
came  on  him  so  soon  after  he  had  taken  the  Eternal 
City,  and  advised  him  to  turn  back. 

Attila  did  not  turn  back,  but  the  strange  awe  of 
Rome  began  to  steal  over  his  heart.  As  he  rode  on 
at  the  head  of  his  army  he  was  met  by  an  embassy 
from  Rome,  headed  by  a  commanding  figure.  Pope 
Leo  I,  head  of  the  great  Christian  Church,  which 
stood  for  the  spiritual  power  of  Christendom,  had  come 
to  turn  Attila  from  his  purpose  of  attacking  Rome. 
One  man  —  of  commanding  presence,  it  is  true,  and 
quiet  strength  — but  one  man  against  an  army  of  bar- 
barians !  Ah  !  but  he  stood  for  all  which  the  super- 
stitious barbarian  feared.  He  had  behind  him  a  might 
before  which  Attila  did  well  to  tremble.  Civilization, 
with  all  its  constructive  power  of  religion^to  uplift  and 
lead  men,  stood  over  against  barbarism,  with  its  super- 
stition and  its  fierce  power  of  destruction.  And  civili- 
zation triumphed.  The  awe  of  Rome  fell  upon  Attila, 
and  he  turned  back,  murmuring,  "  What  gain  indeed 
if  I  conquer  like  Alaric,  to  die  with  him  ?  " 


THEODORIC 


1 ING  THEUDEMIR  sat 
in  his  carved  seat  at  the  head 
of  the  long  Gothic  hall, 
thinking  deeply.  Warriors 
i  of  hostile  nations,  who  met 
the  king  only  when  he  was 
commanding  his  troops  in 
war,  could  not  understand 
why  his  people  called  him 
"Theudemir  the  Affection- 
ate," "Theudemir  the  Good," 
and  "  Theudemir  the  Be- 
loved." To  them  the  stern, 
fierce  general  who  was  always 
in  the  forefront  of  the  battle 
\*ZSm&Z^®J3%\  seemed  more  like  some  old 
Teutonic  war-god,  appearing  on  earth  once  more  in 
human  form.  Had  they  seen  him  to-night,  as  the 
firelight  played  about  his  features,  they  would  not 
have  wondered  at  the  love  his  people  bore  him,  for 
the  piercing  blue  eyes  were  gentle,  and  the  stern 
lines  of  his  face  were  softened.   All  the  court  had 

57 


58  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

gone  on  a  hunt,  but  Theudemir  had  remained  at 
home  to  consider  what  answer  he  should  give  to  the 
message  which  had  come  that  morning  from  the 
Roman  court.  His  little  son,  Theodoric,  had  come 
with  his  tiny  broadsword  to  show  him  the  new  drill 
which  he  had  learned,  and  his  wife,  the  fair  queen 
Erelieva,  had  sat  with  him  for  a  time  ;  but  he  had 
sent  them  both  away  and  was  alone  with  his  problem. 

It  was  the  old  story  of  tribute  money  and  bound- 
aries, but  now  it  was  the  Romans  who  paid  the 
money,  hiding  its  real  meaning  under  the  name  of 
"  New  Year's  presents,"  and  they  paid  it  only  to 
the  barbarian  nations  from  whom  they  feared  attack. 
When  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  year  the  money 
failed  to  come,  the  East  Goths  had  known  that  some- 
thing was  wrong.  The  messengers  whom  Theudemir 
sent  to  Constantinople  returned  from  their  mission 
humiliated  and  angry.  The  emperor  had  transferred 
his  friendship  to  another  Gothic  chieftain,  another 
Theodoric,  who  sat  at  his  table  and  took  the  money 
that  had  been  theirs,  assuring  the  emperor  that  the 
East  Goths  were  a  feeble  and  unimportant  nation 
of  whom  he  need  not  take  an  anxious  thought. 

The  East  Goths  had  soon  shown  Emperor  Leo 
his  mistake.  Theudemir  smiled  as  he  thought  of  the 
quick  raid  into  the  nearest  Roman  provinces  which 


THE  ROMAN  DEMAND 


59 


had  followed  closely  on  the  return  of  the  ambassadors. 
There  was  never  a  Goth  who  would  not  rather  rav- 
age his  neighbor's  field  for  corn  and  grain,  even  at 
the  risk  of  his  life,  than  plant  and  till  and  harvest 
by  his  own  slow,  laborious  toil. 

The  message  of  conciliation  had  come  from  the 
emperor  that  morning,  and  the  Goths  had  gone  wild 
with  delight.  "  Leo  has  learned  his  lesson  !  "  "  Now 
the  emperor  knows  that  the  East  Goths  are  not  a 
weak  people  to-  be  trodden  down  and  neglected." 
The  hall  with  its  high  Gothic  arches  had  rung  with 
the  boasts  and  taunts  of  the  nobles,  and  then  they 
had  gone  on  a  great  hunt  to  celebrate  the  occasion. 
But  Theudemir  had  remained  behind.  One  part  of 
the  message  the  others  had  passed  over  lightly  and 
seemed  to  forget.  The  emperor  would  pay  the  friend- 
ship money  which  was  due ;  he  would  promise  that 
henceforth  an  even  larger  sum  should  come  regu- 
larly. But  he  demanded  of  the  Goths  one  pledge, 
—  that  they  would  keep  the  faith  and  not  send  any 
more  war  parties  across  the  Danube.  They  must 
give  over  to  be  brought  up  as  a  hostage  in  the  Roman 
court  the  heir  to  the  East  Gothic  throne,  Theodoric, 
the  eight-year-old  son  of  Theudemir. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  the  king  had  sent  the  child 
away  when  he  came  to  him  with  his  happy,  thoughtless 


60  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

prattle.  To  deliver  this  child,  the  pride  and  hope 
of  the  Gothic  nation,  over  to  the  Romans  to  be 
trained  by  Roman  teachers  in  Roman  ways  in  a  court 
hundreds  of  miles  away  !  To  have  his  son  the  price 
of  Gothic  peace !  The  father's  heart  might  well  be 
troubled.  The  Goths  loved  the  lad,  but  would  they 
remember,  through  the  long  years  while  he  was  grow- 
ing to  manhood,  that  his  life  was  forfeit  if  once  they 
broke  the  peace  ?  One  expedition  of  plunder  into 
the  forbidden  territory,  and  Theodoric's  life  would  be 
worth  nothing  at  the  imperial  court,  where  murder 
and  assassination  were  far  too  common  for  the  putting 
to  death  of  a  hostage  to  be  questioned.  Moreover 
the  boy  must  be  prepared  for  the  Gothic  kingship. 
Would  he  not  lose  in  the  Roman  life  that  love  of 
freedom  which  was  the  safety  of  the  Gothic  nation  ? 
These  questions  King  Theudemir  had  been  pon- 
dering all  day,  and  in  the  evening,  when  darkness 
had  fallen  and  the  great  hall  was  lighted  only  by  the 
fires  on  the  hearths,  he  came  to  his  decision.  He 
owed  it  to  his  people  to  give  his  royal  consent  and 
let  the  boy  go.  He  must  trust  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians, whose  faith  his  nation  had  so  lately  adopted, 
that  Theodoric  would  return  safely  when  his  period 
of  exile  was  over.  Moreover  his  old  heathen  super- 
stition, in   which   he   still   half  believed,   gave  him 


THEODORIC  AS  HOSTAGE  6 1 

encouragement.  Theodoric  had  been  born  on  a  lucky 
day,  the  day  of  the  last  great  defeat  of  the  Huns. 
The  messenger  who  brought  Theudemir  the  news  of 
his  son's  birth  had  carried  back  to  the  anxious  house- 
hold the  report  of  the  victory  which  meant  that  the 
Goths  had  been  delivered  from  their  forty-year-long 
subjection  to  a  barbarian  despot,  and  that  their  prince 
was  born  to  the  kingship  of  a  free  and  independent 
people.  Remembering  that  day,  could  he  not  take  it 
as  a  prophecy  that  Theodoric  would  go  through  this 
new  peril  unharmed,  and  carry  further  the  fulfillment 
of  the  family  name  which  his  father  and  many  gener- 
ations of  kings  before  him  had  borne  so  proudly,  the 
noble  name  of  Amal,  which  means  in  the  Gothic 
language  "the  fortunate"? 

Of  the  life  of  the  boy  Theodoric  at  Constantinople 
little  is  reported.  That  he  never  learned  to  read  or 
write  we  know,  for  when  he  was  ruler  of  a  great  em- 
pire he  could  not  sign  his  own  name,  but  had  a  gold 
plate  with  the  first  four  letters  of  his  name  pierced 
through  it,  so  that  when  he  wished  to  sign  any  docu- 
ment he  could  place  the  plate  upon  the  parchment 
and  trace  through  the  lines  the  first  four  letters  of 
his  name,  "THEO."  Whether  no  one  took  pains 
to  teach  the  young  barbarian,  or  whether  he  scorned 


62  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

the  young  Romans  who  knew  better  how  to  use  the 
pen  than  the  sword,  we  do  not  know.  His  handsome 
face  and  his  ready  wit  found  him  a  place  in  the 
close  circle  of  the  emperor's  favorites,  and  his  skill 
at  arms  and  his  horsemanship  made  him  a  leader 
in  the  drill  and  sports  which  were  the  occupation  of 
every  Roman  youth.  It  was  with  regret  that  Em- 
peror Leo  granted  his  request,  when  he  was  seven- 
teen years  old,  that  he  be  no  longer  detained  at  the 
court,  but  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  own  people  and 
his  father's  palace,  and  he  sent  him  home  loaded 
with  royal  presents. 

King  Theudemir's  fears  that  the  Roman  train- 
ing would  spoil  the  Goth  in  Theodoric  were  soon 
dispelled.  The  feasting  and  merrymaking  over  his 
return  had  hardly  ended  before  the  young  prince 
was  missing  and  with  him  a  group  of  young  Gothic 
nobles  who  had  been  his  playmates  in  childhood  and 
with  whom  he  had  fallen  into  a  cordial  comradeship 
on  his  return.  The  king  smiled  when  the  word  of 
his  son's  absence  was  brought  to  him,  and  waited 
well  pleased  for  the  report  which  soon  came  from 
the  frontier  of  the  Gothic  kingdom.  A  Roman  army 
had  just  been  defeated  by  Babai,  the  king  of  the 
Sarmatians,  who  had  conquered  and  taken  from 
the   Romans   one   of   their  leading   eastern    cities, 


HIS  FIRST  EXPLOIT  63 

the  modern  Belgrade.  Babai  was  gloating  over  his 
victory  when  the  young  Roman-trained  barbarian 
appeared  before  the  gates  of  the  city  with  an  array 
of  forces  which  he  had  carried  off  from  his  father's 
army,  and  succeeded  in  wresting  it  from  him.  If 
the  Emperor  Leo  had  thought  he  had  tamed  the 
young  barbarian  into  a  submissive  Roman  courtier, 
he  soon  found  he  was  mistaken.  Theodoric  did  not 
hand  back  to  the  Romans  the  city  which  their  army 
had  just  lost,  but  kept  it  for  his  own  private  rulership. 
The  Goths  had  given  Theodoric  a  warm  welcome 
when  he  returned  from  his  long  exile  in  Constanti- 
nople. Now  they  took  him  to  their  hearts.  In  spite 
of  his  Roman  dress  and  Roman  ways  he  was  no  for- 
eigner. He  had  followed  the  unwritten  law  of  the 
Gothic  nobility  that  every  young  man  must  prove 
himself  by  some  warlike  deed,  and  had  shown  him- 
self worthy  of  their  love  and  pride.  With  one  accord 
the  people  declared  that  he  and  he  alone  should 
succeed  his  father  as  their  king. 


GOTH   AGAINST  GOTH 

THE  chief  problem  of  a  barbarian  king  was  to 
find  means  to  feed  his  people.  In  the  century 
of  the  wandering  of  the  nations  the  eastern  prov- 
inces of  the  Roman  Empire  had  been  so  often  plun- 
dered and  devastated  by  barbarian  peoples  that  they 
had  become  barren  and  unfruitful.  It  was  a  heavy 
responsibility  which  fell  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
young  king  Theodoric,  coming  to  the  Gothic  throne 
when  he  was  only  twenty  years  old,  and  he  deemed 
himself  fortunate  that  he  was  able  to  render  assist- 
ance to  the  new  claimant  to  the  imperial  chair  of 
Rome,  which  was  left  vacant  in  that  year  by  the 
death  of  Emperor  Leo.  Roman  favor  meant  Roman 
gold  with  which  to  pay  his  armies  and  buy  corn  and 
grain.  When  the  new  emperor,  Zeno,  assumed  the 
purple  robes,  he  did  not  forget  the  protection  which 
Theodoric  had  given  him  when,  a  fugitive  from  his 
enemies,  he  had  been  forced  to  flee  into  Gothic 
territory,  but  presented  to  him  a  position  and  title 
which  few  men  as  young  as  he  had  held,  —  the  office 
of  Patrician  and  Master  in  Arms.    Besides  this  he 

64 


ROMAN  FRIENDSHIP  65 

publicly  adopted  him  as  his  own  personal  son  in 
arms.  The  good  fortune  which  had  begun  on  the 
day  of  his  birth  seemed  to  be  continuing  with  the 
young  king. 

No  one's  fortunes  were  secure,  however,  from 
one  day  to  another  in  the  fickle  Roman  court.  The 
second  year  of  Zeno's  reign  and  Theodoric's  favor 
had  not  closed  before  the  other  Theodoric,  known 
in  history  as  the  One-eyed,  who  had  made  trouble 
for  King  Theudemir  by  obtaining  the  friendship  of 
Emperor  Leo  fifteen  years  before,  appeared  at  Con- 
stantinople to  stir  up  trouble  for  Theudemir's  son 
with  the  new  emperor.  Again  he  claimed  that  he 
was  the  rightful  king  and  leader  of  a  much  larger 
nation  of  East  Goths  than  that  over  which  the  boy 
Theodoric  ruled.  The  wily  Zeno  was  in  a  quandary. 
There  was  not  money  enough  to  pay  both  sets  of 
Goths.  Loyalty  bade  him  stand  by  the  son  of  Theu- 
demir, the  prince  of  the  house  of  Amal ;  but  Roman 
emperors  cared  little  in  those  days  for  loyalty  and 
much  for  power.  Zeno  only  wanted  to  keep  on  his 
side  the  one  who  could  help  him  most,  and  to  leave 
as  his  enemy  the  one  who  could  do  least  harm,  and 
it  is  a  rare  compliment  to  our  young  Theodoric  that 
he  decided  it  was  better  policy  to  keep  friendship 
with    him. 


66  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Theodoric  the  One-eyed  promptly  began  to  make 
trouble.  He  and  his  people  plundered  neighboring 
cities,  and  came  southward  toward  Constantinople. 
Reports  reached  the  Roman  capital  of  large  armies 
which  he  was  gathering  on  the  frontier.  Zeno  be- 
gan to  repent  of  his  decision  and  to  wonder  if  he 
had  done  well  to  antagonize  one  who  was  proving 
himself  so  powerful  a  leader.  He  tried  to  make 
terms  with  him,  offering  to  take  him  into  the  circle 
of  allies  on  the  same  conditions  which  he  had  come 
to  Constantinople  to  seek  a  few  months  before ;  but 
this  time  it  was  the  turn  of  the  Goth  to  refuse.  He 
would  not  yield  until  the  quarrel  was  settled  once  for 
all,  and  Theodoric  the  Amal  was  discredited  forever. 

The  emperor  had  now  no  choice.  There  must  be  a 
war,  but  who  should  carry  it  on  ?  Who,  he  reflected, 
but  the  man  over  whom  he  was  having  all  this 
trouble  ?  So  he  sent  to  Theodoric  the  Amal  a  press- 
ing and  peremptory  message,  saying  that  the  time 
had  come  for  him  to  prove  himself  worthy  of  the 
honors  bestowed  upon  him,  by  assisting  in  the  war 
which  was  being  waged  against  his  rival. 

Theodoric  had  not  been  brought  up  in  the  midst 
of  Roman  intrigue  for  nothing.  He  refused  to  come 
into  the  quarrel  until  the  emperor  and  senate  had 
bound  themselves  by  a  solemn  vow  to  enter  into  no 


GOTH  AGAINST  GOTH  67 

treaty  with  the  other  Gothic  leader.  Then,  knowing 
that  otherwise  he  would  lose  his  important  alliance 
with  the  Romans,  and  that  his  people  would  lose  the 
money  which  meant  meat  and  drink  to  them  in  the 
impoverished  province  where  they  lived,  he  proceeded 
to  the  war.  A  campaign  was  laid  out  by  which  his 
troops  and  Roman  forces  from  two  neighboring 
provinces  were  to  arrive  at  the  same  time  in  the 
Balkan  country  where  the  One-eyed  had  stationed 
his  forces.  Theodoric  carried  out  his  part  of  the 
program  and  found  himself,  after  a  terrible  march 
through  wild  mountain  country,  alone  with  his  Gothic 
troops  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  who  were  occu- 
pying an  impregnable  position  at  the  top  of  a  steep 
cliff.    The  Romans  had  failed  to  appear. 

There  was  no  chance  for  battle.  Parties  of  horse- 
men came  down  the  steep  paths  from  the  heights 
and  skirmished  with  Theodoric 's  men,  who  attacked 
in  their  turn  when  the  horsemen  from  the  cliff  had 
to  come  into  the  plains  to  get  fodder  for  their  horses  ; 
but  there  could  be  no  decisive  fighting  till  the  enemy 
were  willing  to  come  down  into  the  valley  and  take 
their  chances  in  an  open  battle.  So  it  went  on  from 
day  to  day.  Still  the  Romans  did  not  come ;  and 
each  morning  Theodoric  the  One-eyed  would  take 
advantage  of  his  unassailable  position  and,  sheltered 


68  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

by  some  rock  from  the  arrows  of  the  warriors  in  the 
valley,  would  stand  on  his  hilltop  and  pour  forth  a 
storm  of  reproach  on  the  young  Theodoric,  "  that 
perjurer  and  enemy  to  the  whole  Gothic  race,"  as 
he  called  him. 

"  Silly  and  conceited  boy !  "  he  would  shout,  and 
Theodoric  was  powerless  to  stop  him  or  to  prevent 
his  people  from  listening,  "you  do  not  understand 
the  Romans  nor  see  through  their  design.  They 
intend  to  let  the  Goths  tear  one  another  to  pieces, 
while  they  sit  by  and  watch  the  game  at  their  ease, 
sure  of  the  real  victory,  whichever  side  is  defeated. 
And  we  the  while,  turning'  our  hands  against  our 
brethren,  are  to  be  left  an  easy  prey  to  the  tricks  of 
the  Romans.  O  son  of  Theudemir !  which  of  their 
promises  have  they  kept  ?  They  have  led  you  to  your 
own  destruction,  and  the  penalty  of  your  stupidity 
will  fall  on  the  people  whom  you  have  betrayed." 

Such  were  the  words  which  came  from  the  cliff 
one  morning,  and  then  the  voice  ceased,  and  Theodo- 
ric's  people  were  left  to  think  over  what  had  been 
said.    The  next  morning  it  would  begin  again. 

"  Ho,  Theodoric,  scoundrel !  why  art  thou  leading 
so  many  of  my  brethren  to  destruction  ?  Why  hast 
thou  made  so  many  Gothic  women  widows  ?  What 
has  become  of  all  that  abundance  of  good  things 


THE  VOICE  FROM  THE  HILLTOP        69 

which  filled  their  wagons  when  they  first  set  forth 
from  their  homes  to  march  under  thy  standard  ? 
Then  they  owned  two  and  three  horses  apiece.  Now, 
without  a  horse  they  must  needs  limp  on  foot  through 
Thrace,  following  thee  as  if  they  were  thy  slaves. 
Foolish  boy,  not  long  will  they  heed  thy  calls.  They 
will  be  wiser  than  their  king." 

Theodoric  could  have  fought  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but  against  these  cool  and  cutting  taunts  delivered 
by  an  unseen  voice  he  was  powerless,  for  the  picture 
drawn  by  his  rival  was  all  too  true.  Roman  ingenuity 
and  treachery  had  devised  this  new  scheme  of  slip- 
ping out  of  the  war  at  the  last  moment  and  leaving 
the  Goths  to  fight  against  and  destroy  each  other. 
When  the  men  and  women  of  the  Gothic  camp  came 
to  the  tent  of  the  young  king,  clamoring  for  peace 
with  their  kinsmen,  he  had  nothing  to  say.  It  was 
a  bitter  moment  for  Theodoric  when  he  came  to  the 
banks  of  the  stream  to  make  terms  with  the  man 
who  had  been  the  cause  of  his  childhood  exile  in 
the  court  of  Constantinople,  and  whose  voice  he  had 
daily  heard  in  reproach  and  insult.  He  went  through 
his  part  like  the  king  he  was,  and  made  a  formal 
treaty  of  reconciliation  and  peace  with  his  namesake, 
but  he  did  not  forget  to  whose  treachery  this  humili- 
ation was  due.    It  took  ten  years  of  Roman  favors 


70  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

to  wipe  out  from  the  memory  of  the  proud  young 
barbarian  the  bitterness  of  that  hour. 

So  Emperor  Zeno  found  himself  with  two  enemies 
instead  of  one,  and  for  a  time  even  he  was  baffled 
by  this  new  turn  of  affairs.  He  went  to  work  with 
his  usual  weapon  of  intrigue,  trying  to  make  terms 
secretly  with  each  party  of  the  Gothic  alliance,  but 
his  efforts  were  in  vain.  Both  sides  stoutly  main- 
tained that  they  had  come  at  last  to  see  reason. 
Goth  would  no  longer  fight  with  Goth  for  no  quarrel 
of  their  own,  but  at  the  bidding  of  an  outsider. 

Theodoric  the  One-eyed  met  the  Roman  ambas- 
sadors with  high-flown  protestations  about  the  unity 
of  the  Gothic  race  and  the  evils  of  brothers  fighting 
with  one  another.  His  only  quarrel  was  with  the 
young  king  Theodoric,  whose  army,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  hoped  to  win  over  to  his  standards.  Theo- 
doric the  Amal  met  the  Roman  advances  with  a 
recital  of  his  grievances  which  Emperor  Zeno  must 
have  found  it  hard  to  answer. 

"I  was  willing  enough,"  said  he,  "to  live  in  peace 
and  quiet  in  my  Gothic  province,  beyond  the  Roman 
territory,  giving  obedience  to  the  emperor  and  doing 
injury  to  no  man.  Who  summoned  me  forth  from 
this  retirement  and  insisted  on  my  taking  the  field 
against  this  rival  Goth,  Theodoric  the  One-eyed  ? 


ROMAN  TREACHERY  71 

The  emperor.  He  promised  that  the  Master  of  the 
Soldiery  for  Thrace  should  join  me  with  an  army ; 
he  never  came.  Then  that  Claudius,  the  keeper  of 
the  funds,  should  bring  me  pay  for  my  troops ;  he, 
too,  did  not  appear.  Thirdly,  guides  who  were  given 
to  me,  instead  of  taking  the  smooth  and  easy  roads 
which  would  have  led  me  straight  to  the  camp  of  my 
foe,  brought  me  up  and  down  all  kinds  of  steep  and 
dangerous  places  where,  if  I  had  been  attacked,  with 
all  my  long  train  of  horses  and  wagons  and  my  fol- 
lowing of  women  and  children,  I  must  without  doubt 
have  been  destroyed.  Brought  at  a  disadvantage  into 
the  presence  of  our  enemies,  I  was  forced  to  make 
peace  with  them.  Yea,  in  truth,  I  owe  them  great 
thanks  for  saving  me  alive,  when  owing  to  your 
treachery  they  might  easily  have  wiped  out  me  and 
my  army  forever." 

These  personal  claims  and  his  desire  for  revenge 
he  would  nevertheless  lay  aside  for  the  sake  of  his 
hungry  people,  if  the  emperor  would  assign  to  him 
some  district  for  a  permanent  dwelling  place  and 
would  provide  rations  of  corn  for  his  people  until 
they  could  reap  their  own  harvest.  Otherwise,  he 
added  significantly,  he  could  not  prevent  his  famished 
army  from  supplying  their  needs  in  any  way  they 
could.    It  was   a  noble  and   kingly  answer,   but  it 


72  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

did  not  suit  the  emperor,  who  had  no  intention  of 
drawing  so  heavily  on  the  imperial  treasures  if  he 
could  help  it. 

Things  began  to  look  serious  in  Constantinople. 
The  generals  called  in  their  troops  from  Greece  and 
Turkey.  This  might  be  the  end  of  Roman  intrigue 
and  the  beginning  of  the  great  Gothic- Roman  war 
which  had  so  long  been  predicted.  But  Zeno  had 
not*  used  all  his  schemes.  He  had  not  yet  tried 
personal  bribery.  To  Theodoric  the  Amal  he  now 
offered  large  sums  of  gold  and  silver  and  a  Roman 
damsel  of  the  imperial  family  in  marriage.  The 
straightforward  son  of  King  Theudemir  and  the 
good  queen  Erelieva  would  not  hear  to  such  pro- 
posals. But  the  One-eyed  was  not  so  upright.  He 
only  waited  till  the  offers  became  large  enough,  and 
then  he  forgot  his  horror  of  Goth  fighting  Goth,  and 
agreed  to  turn  upon  his  ally  and  drive  him  out  of  the 
country.  He  did  not,  however,  succeed.  For  the 
next  few  years  Theodoric  the  Amal  proved  a  trouble- 
some enemy  to  the  Romans.  One  unchanging  need 
controlled  and  guided  his  movements.  He  must 
have  food  for  his  wandering  peoples.  So  we  hear 
of  him  now  in  one  city,  now  in  another,  with  his 
army,  always  victorious  but  never  despoiling  save  to 
win  food  and  shelter  for  his  people.    Other  barbarian 


ROMAN  FAVOR 


73 


tribes  tore  down  the  treasures  of  art  from  the  palaces 
and  churches  and  stripped  the  buildings  of  all  that 
made  them  beautiful.  Theodoric  had  lived  too  long 
at  the  Roman  court  to  allow  such  barbarities  save 
when  the  inhabitants  refused  him  corn  and  provisions. 
Then  his  Gothic  temper  came  to  the  front,  and  he 
burned  and  pillaged  without  mercy. 

There  was  never  a  lasting  peace  between  the 
Roman  emperor  and  our  Theodoric  till  the  One- 
eyed  died.  Then  Theodoric  became  the  undisputed 
leader  of  all  the  Goths.  Thirty  thousand  men  were 
added  to  his  armies,  and  he  was  able  to  terrorize  the 
whole  Roman  border.  Zeno  made  haste  to  conclude 
a  satisfactory  peace  with  him,  and  we  see  him  once 
more  in  Constantinople,  this  time  as  consul,  giving 
his  name  to  the  year  and  exercising  all  the  preroga- 
tives of  that  honorable  office.  Three  years  he  enjoyed 
the  luxuries  of  life  at  the  Roman  court,  and  to  the 
Roman-bred  young  ruler  they  must  have  had  many 
charms  over  the  hard  life  as  leader  and  provider 
for  a  wandering  people.  But  Theodoric  had  too 
much  nobility  of  character  and  too  much  Gothic 
blood  in  his  veins  to  be  satisfied  as  the  petted 
dependent  of  an  alien  race.  The  call  of  his  people 
came  to  him,  and  he  responded.  This  is  the  way 
the  historian  tells  it : 


74  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

"  Meanwhile  Theodoric,  who  was  bound  by  cove- 
nant to  the  empire  of  Zeno,  hearing  that  his  nation 
were  not  too  well  supplied  with  the  necessaries  of 
life  while  he  was  enjoying  all  the  good  things  of  the 
capital,  and  choosing  rather,  after  the  old  manner 
of  his  race,  to  seek  food  by  labor  than  to  enjoy  in 
luxurious  idleness  the  fatness  of  the  Roman  realm 
while  his  people  were  living  in  hardship,  made  up 
his  mind  and  spoke  to  the  emperor." 

With  the  wisdom  which  was  to  make  him  a  world- 
famous  ruler,  Theodoric  had  seen  that  there  was  no 
chance  for  him  or  his  people  in  the  crowded  eastern 
provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Ignoring,  with  an 
audacity  which  leaves  us  breathless  but  admiring, 
the  thousand  miles  of  mountain  and  valley  and  river 
which  lay  between,  he  announced  to  the  Roman 
emperor  that  he  would  like  to  go  over  with  his  people 
into  Italy,  and  requested  that  he  and  his  people  be 
given  that  kingdom  to  hold  "as  a  gift  and  under 
his  imperial  protection."  Both  parties  seem  to  have 
ignored  the  fact  that  Italy  was  held  by  a  barbarian 
people  and  ruled  over  by  Odoacer,  a  Goth  who  had 
lost  favor  with  his  people  by  becoming,  in  his  young 
manhood,  a  courtier  of  the  hated  Attila.  The  emperor 
had  little  friendship  for  these  barbarian  occupants 
of  Italy,  although  they  were  nominally  under  his 


THE  MARCH  OF  A  NATION  75 

control ;  but  he  could  not  give  any  real  help  to 
Theodoric,  who  must  win  the  land  by  hard  fighting. 
He  went  through  the  form  of  granting  Theodoric's 
request,  and  with  many  expressions  of  regret  allowed 
the  Goths  to  go.  But  we  must  think  that  he  was 
more  willing  to  spare  them  than  he  admitted,  and 
that  he  was  glad  to  get  so  powerful  and  difficult  a 
"son  in  arms"  safely  out  of  his  way  in  the  distant 
land  of  Italy. 

So  Theodoric  started  with  his  nation  army  of 
more  than  two  hundred  thousand  Goths  on  the  long, 
hard  journey  over  into  Italy.  "  Since  Moses  led  the 
Children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  and  through  the 
wilderness,"  says  the  chronicler,  M  so  great  a  migra- 
tion had  not  been  undertaken."  Putting  into  the 
wagons  the  women  and  children  and  as  much  furni- 
ture as  they  could  take,  the  men  set  out  on  the  great 
highway  that  followed  the  course  of  the  Danube 
River,  but  their  way  did  not  lie  for  many  miles  over 
smooth  roadways.  There  is  a  story  of  a  great  swamp 
to  which  they  came.  Enemies  pressed  upon  them 
before  and  behind,  and  there  was  no  chance  to  turn 
aside.  The  Gothic  vanguard  drove  their  horses  into 
the  swamp.  Many  sank  in  the  treacherous  waters, 
and  those  who  came  safely  across  were  falling  before 


j6  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

the  lances  which  their  foes  on  the  other  side  were 
hurling  against  the  reed-woven  breastplates  of  the 
Goths.  Then  Theodoric  shouted  :  "Whoso  will  fight 
the  enemy  let  him  follow  me.  Look  not  to  any 
other  leader,  but  only  charge  where  you  see  my 
standards  advancing.  The  Gepids  shall  know  that 
a  king  attacks  them ;  my  people  shall  know  that 
Theodoric  saves  them." 

Cool  and  watchful  in  the  moment  of  peril,  he  had 
seen  in  the  apparently  trackless  swamp  a  narrow  way 
which  he  believed  to  be  solid  ground.  Urging  his 
horse  to  a  gallop  he  dashed  across  it,  and  his  people 
followed  his  lead.  aAsa  swollen  river  through  the 
harvest  field,  as  a  lion  through  the  herd,"  so  did 
Theodoric  charge  upon  the  enemy,  and  they  fell 
back  in  terror  before  him.  The  victory  was  doubly 
important  because  in  their  flight  the  enemy  left  their 
wagons  of  provisions  behind  them,  and  the  Goths 
were  delivered  from  famine  for  another  stage  of 
their  journey. 

No  other  leader  could  have  planned  such  a  march, 
and  no  people  less  hardy  and  courageous  could  have 
carried  it  through.  Queen  Erelieva  and  the  Gothic 
women  suffered  untold  miseries  in  the  wild  moun- 
tain passes,  where  the  cold  was  so  intense  that  the 
yellow  locks  of  the  chiefs  were  whitened  with  frost, 


77 


7 8  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

and  the  icicles  hung  from  their  beards.  But  the  day 
came  when  the  pastures  were  green  again  and  the 
rich  lowlands  of  Italy  lay  before  the  eyes  of  the 
weary  company.  On  the  plains  of  Verona  Theodoric 
met  Odoacer,  the  soldier-general  who  then  ruled  Italy. 

As  Theodoric  was  donning  his  armor,  buckling 
on  his  breastplate  of  steel  and  hanging  his  sword  by 
his  side,  his  mother  Erelieva  and  his  sister  Amalfrida 
came  to  the  royal  tent. 

"  Bring  forth,  O  my  mother  and  sister,  my  most 
splendid  robes,  those  on  which  your  fingers  have 
worked  the  most  gorgeous  embroidery,"  he  said  to 
them.  "  I  would  be  more  gayly  dressed  on  this  day 
than  on  a  holiday.  Mother,  to-day  it  behooves  me 
to  show  to  the  world  that  it  was  indeed  a  man  child 
whom  you  bore  on  that  great  day  of  the  victory  over 
the  Huns.  I  too,  in  the  play  of  lances,  have  to  show 
myself  worthy  of  my  ancestor's  renown  by  winning 
new  victories  of  my  own.  Before  my  mind's  eye  stands 
my  father,  the  mighty  Theudemir,  he  who  never 
doubted  of  victory,  and  therefore  never  failed  of  it. 
Clothe  me  therefore  in  rich  apparel  for  this  great  day. 
If  the  enemy  do  not  recognize  me,  as  I  intend  they 
shall,  by  the  violence  of  my  onset,  let  them  know 
me  by  the  brilliancy  of  my  raiment.  If  fortune  give 
my  throat  to  the  sword  of  my  enemy,  let  them  at  least 


THE  GOTHIC  CIVILIZER  79 

say,  '  How  splendid  he  looks  in  death,'  if  they  have 
not  had  the  chance  to  admire  me  fighting. " 

With  such  brave  and  confident  words  Theodoric 
cheered  his  mother  and  sister,  and  then  went  forth 
to  fight  for  the  land  which  he  had  come  a  thousand 
miles  to  conquer.  His  good  fortune  did  not  desert 
him,  and  though  it  took  more  than  one  battle  to  win 
so  great  a  land,  yet  within  five  years  he  was  the 
conqueror  and  acknowledged  ruler  of  all  Italy. 

Another  barbarian  approaching  Rome,  but  this 
time  with  a  new  purpose,  —  not  to  destroy  but  to  build 
up  !  It  has  been  said  that  until  they  met  the  Teu- 
tonic peoples  the  Romans  had  been  able  to  Romanize 
every  nation  with  which  they  came  in  contact,  but 
that  the  Goths  succeeded  in  Teutonizing  Roman 
institutions.  It  was  this  which  Theodoric  was  to  do 
in  Italy.  With  his  Gothic  inheritance  and  his  Roman 
training  he  took  up  the  work,  which  the  Romans  had 
been  forced  by  weakness  to  lay  down,  of  ruling  the 
barbarian  nations  of  Europe.  By  an  administration 
in  which  Gothic  strength  was  tempered  with  Roman 
wisdom  he  earned  the  title  of  "The  Gothic  Civilizer." 


CLOVIS,  KING  OF  THE  FRANKS 


jONQUEROR  and  civilizer, 
Theodoric  sat  on  his  Italian 
throne,  and  for  the  first 
time  since  Alaric  and  his 
barbarians  crossed  the  Alps 
the  land  had  rest.  "  He  was 
an  illustrious  man  and  full  of 
good  will  towards  all,"  says 
the  chronicler.  "He  reigned 
thirty-three  years,  and  so  great 
was  the  happiness  attained  by 
Italy  that  even  the  wayfarers 
were  at  peace.  For  he  did 
nothing  wrong.  Thus  did  he 
govern  the  two  nations,  the  Goths  and  Romans,  as  if 
they  were  one  people.  So  great  was  the  order  which 
he  maintained  that,  if  any  one  wished  to  leave  gold 
or  silver  on  his  land,  it  was  deemed  as  safe  as  if 
within  a  walled  city.  An  indication  of  this  was  the 
fact  that  throughout  all  Italy  he  never  made  gates  for 
any  city,  and  the  gates  that  were  in  the  cities  were 

not  closed.  Any  one  who  had  any  business  to  transact 

80 


A  TIME  OF  PEACE  8 1 

did  it  at  any  hour  of  the  night  as  securely  as  in  the 
day.  He  was  a  lover  of  manufactures  and  a  great 
restorer  of  cities." 

Nor  was  it  only  Italy  that  prospered.  Merchants 
came  flocking  from  all  the  countries  round  about  to 
carry  on  their  trade  under  his  protection,  and  neigh- 
boring peoples  desired  to  have  a  share  in  this  won- 
derful peace  and  prosperity,  or,  as  the  quaint  record 
reads,  "Thus  he  so  charmed  the  neighboring  nations 
that  they  came  under  a  league  with  him,  hoping  that 
he  would  be  their  king."  That  Theodoric  did  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  strengthen  the  friendship 
between  his  people  and  the  Teutonic  nations  with 
which  he  was  surrounded,  and  to  maintain  the  peace 
of  Europe,  is  shown  by  the  system  of  marriages 
which  he  arranged.  His  sister  Amalfrida  he  gave 
in  marriage  to  the  king  of  the  Vandals,  who  ruled 
in  Carthage  and  northern  Africa,  his  two  daughters 
were  the  wives  of  the  kings  of  the  West  Gothic 
and  Burgundian  peoples,  and  he  himself  married  the 
sister  of  that  greatest  barbarian  of  them  all,  Clovis, 
the  king  of  the  Franks. 

The  Franks  were  a  new  branch  of  the  Teutonic 
peoples  and  had  come  but  lately  within  the  pale  of 
civilization.  They  lived  in  the  northwesternmost 
corner  of  Europe,  in  the  land  to  which  they  have 


82  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

since  given  their  name,  ancl  came  first  into  the  great 
family  of  barbarian  nations  on  that  day  when  all 
Europe  united  to  drive  back  the  terrible  Attila  and 
his  Huns.  They  were  not  even  united  under  one 
king  until  the  days  of  Clovis,  who  came  to  the  chief- 
tainship in  481,  eight  years  before  Theodoric  came 
over  into  Italy.  Clovis  was  but  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  old  when  he  became  king,  but  he  went  speedily 
to  war  with  all  his  neighbors  and  succeeded  in  so 
extending  his  territory  that  the  statesmanlike  Theo- 
doric thought  him  sufficiently  powerful  to  be  included 
in  his  system  of  family  alliances,  and  sought  and 
obtained  in  marriage  Audefelda,  the  sister  of  the 
Frankish  lord. 

Clovis  was  a  shrewd  as  well  as  a  savage  and  brutal 
king.  He  looked  upon  the  great  alliance  of  Teu- 
tonic nations  which  Theodoric  was  building  up,  and 
decided  that  it  would  be  a  help  to  him  to  have 
a  Christian  wife  of  royal  family.  To  this  end  he 
selected  Clotilda,  niece  of  the  king  of  the  Burgun- 
dians,  whose  own  family  had  all  been  put  to  death 
by  her  uncle  Gundobad,  that  he  might  seize  the 
throne. 

Clotilda  was  living  in  partial  exile  at  Geneva. 
The  story  is  that  Clovis  knew  that  Gundobad  would 
never  allow  him  to  see  her,  and  he  therefore  sent  a 


AN  OFFER  OF  MARRIAGE  83 

Roman  who  was  at  his  court,  by  name  Aurelian,  to 
try  to  see  the  lady.  Aurelian  went  alone  to  Geneva, 
clothed  in  rags  and  with  a  wallet  on  his  back  like  a 
beggar,  but  carrying  with  him  the  ring  of  Clovis  to 
show  his  true  purpose.  Clotilda,  who  was  famous 
for  her  piety  and  charity,  received  the  wandering 
pilgrim  kindly,  and  herself  brought  water  to  wash 
his  feet  that  she  might  show  her  humility  before 
this  holy  man  of  her  faith.  As  she  knelt  before 
him  Aurelian  gave  his  message. 

"  Lady,"  he  whispered,  "  I  have  great  matters  to 
announce  to  thee  if  thou  wilt  deign  to  listen  to  me 
in  secret." 

"  Say  on,"  replied  Clotilda,  consenting. 

"  Clovis,  king  of  the  Franks,  hath  sent  me  to 
thee ;  if  it  be  thy  will,  he  would  fain  raise  thee  to 
his  high  rank  by  marriage  ;  and  that  thou  mayest  be 
assured  of  his  purpose,  he  sendeth  thee  this  ring." 

Clotilda  accepted  the  ring  with  pleasure,  and  said 
to  Aurelian  :  "Take  for  the  recompense  of  thy  pains 
as  messenger  these  hundred  sous  in  gold  and  this 
ring  of  mine.  Return  promptly  to  thy  lord,  and 
tell  him  that  if  he  would  fain  unite  me  to  him  by 
marriage,  let  him  send  without  delay  messengers 
to  demand  me  of  my  uncle  Gundobad,  and  let  the 
messengers  who  shall  come,  take  me  away  in  all 


84  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

haste,  so  soon  as  they  shall  have  obtained  permission, 
for  my  uncle  and  his  counselors,  my  enemies,  would 
fain  prevent  such  a  marriage  by  craft  and  deceit,  but 
they  will  not  dare  to  openly  oppose  your  lord." 

Clovis  was  glad  at  the  message  and  sent  an  embassy 
who  did  even  as  Clotilda  had  said.  Gundobad  dared 
not  refuse  the  powerful  Frank,  and  gave  Clotilda 
over  to  the  envoys,  who  took  her  promptly  to  the 
king.  "Clovis,"  the  chronicler  adds,  "was  trans- 
ported with  joy  at  the  sight  of  her,  and  married  her 
at  once."  So  Clovis  took  his  first  step  out  of  bar- 
barianism,  and  it  was  due  to  the  influence  of  Clotilda 
that  he  made  his  next  great  move. 

Night  and  day  the  queen  had  pleaded  with  her 
heathen  husband  that  he  would  come  into* the  Chris- 
tian faith,  for  she  was  an  ardent  believer.  But  he 
would  not.  Her  one  God  had  never,  he  declared, 
been  proved  any  stronger  if  as  strong  as  his  many 
gods,  and  wherefore  should  he  change  ? 

Meanwhile  a  son  was  born  to  them,  and  the  queen 
presented  him  for  baptism.  She  had  the  church 
adorned  with  tapestry,  seeking  to  attract  her  husband 
by  the  splendor  of  the  ceremony.  But  the  child  died 
in  his  white  baptismal  robe.  Then  Clovis  reproached 
her  bitterly,  saying:  "  If  the  child  had  been  conse- 
crated in  the  name  of  my  gods  he  would  be  alive 


CLOVIS  IN  TROUBLE  85 

still.  But  now  because  he  is  baptized  in  the  name 
of  your  God,  he  cannot  live." 

Clotilda  unceasingly  urged  the  king  to  acknowledge 
the  true  God,  but  he  could  not  be  won  over.  Five 
years  went  by,  and  Clovis's  power  grew  ever  greater 
and  greater  till  he  ruled  from  the  ocean  to  the 
western  bank  of  the  river  Rhine,  and  there  he  came 
upon  a  nation  from  the  north,  equally  barbarous  and 
equally  strong  in  battle.  He  had  thought  to  cross 
over  easily  into  the  fertile  land  which  they  held,  and 
dispossess  them  of  it.  But  they  crossed  over  instead 
to  meet  him  and  surprised  his  troops  and  drew  them 
into  battle  before  they  were  ready.  For  once  the 
Frankish  king  had  met  his  match,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  he  was  to  be  defeated. 

Then  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  when  all  was 
going  against  him,  Clovis  bethought  him  of  the  God 
of  Clotilda,  who  she  had  declared  had  all  power. 
Right  on  the  battle  field,  while  the  fighting  went  on 
about  him,  he  stopped,  and  raising  his  arms  to  heaven 
cried  out  loudly : 

"  O  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Clotilda  declares  to  be 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  who  art  said  to  give  vic- 
tory to  those  who  put  their  hope  in  thee,  I  beseech 
the  glory  of  thine  aid.  I  have  called  on  my  gods, 
and  have  proved  that  they  are  far  from  me  and  have 


86 


THE  BARBARIAN  BECOME  CHRISTIAN     87 

no  power  to  help  me.  Now  will  I  test  that  power 
which  thy  people  say  they  have  proved  concerning 
thee.  If  thou  wilt  grant  me  the  victory  over  these 
enemies,  I  will  believe  on  thee  and  be  baptized  in 
thy  name." 

The  tide  of  battle  turned,  and  the  enemy  began  to 
flee  before  the  Franks.  Their  king  was  killed,  and 
when  they  saw  that  they  were  without  a  leader  they 
submitted  to  Clovis,  saying:  "We  wish  that  no 
more  people  should  perish.  Now  we  are  thine." 
Then  Clovis  forbade  further  war,  and  after  praising 
his  soldiers  he  returned  to  the  queen  and  told  her 
how  he  had  won  the  victory. 

At  the  Christmas  festival  Clovis,  who  had  mean- 
time been  instructed  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian 
faith,  received  baptism  in  the  church  of  Rheims. 
The  story  of  the  coming  of  the  royal  convert  is 
written  thus  in  the  records  of  the  church : 

"  Preparations  had  been  made  along  the  road  from 
the  palace  to  the  baptistery ;  curtains  and  valuable 
stuffs  had  been  hung ;  the  houses  on  either  side  of 
the  street  had  been  decorated ;  the  baptistery  had 
been  sprinkled  with  balm  and  all  manner  of  perfume. 
The  procession  moved  from  the  palace ;  the  clergy 
led  the  way  with  the  holy  book,  the  cross,  and  the 
standards,  singing  hymns  and  spiritual  songs ;  then 


88 


BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 


came  the  bishop,  leading  the  king  by  the  hand ; 
after  him,  the  queen  ;  lastly  the  people.  On  the  road 
it  is  said  that  the  king  asked  the  bishop  if  the  land 
through  which  he  passed  was  the  kingdom  promised 
him.  'No,'  answered  the  prelate,  'but  it  is  the 
entrance  to  the  road  that  leads  to  it/  " 

Even  at  the  moment  of  submission  the  barbarian 
king  had  evidently  dreams  of  earthly  conquest.  But 
at  the  font  of  baptism  he  was  to  receive  his  rebuke. 


"  Bow  thy  head  in  humility,  Barbarian  !  "  cried  the 
bishop.  "  Henceforth  adore  what  thou  hast  burned, 
and  burn  what  thou  hast  adored." 

The  king's  two  sisters  and  three  thousand  men 
of  the  Frankish  army,  besides  many  women  and 
children,  received  baptism  on  that  day,  and  from 
that  time  the  Franks  were  reckoned  a  Christian 
nation. 


THE  BARBARIAN  HUMBLED  89 

Clovis  had  bowed  his  head  to  the  word  of  the 
Church.  He  was  to  meet  another  power  before  which 
he  must  pause.  In  the  course  of  his  wars  he  dealt 
cruelly  with  a  people  who,  driven  from  their  homes, 
sought  protection  and  received  it  from  Theodoric  in 
Italy.  Clovis  prepared  to  pursue  them  and  wipe 
them  off  the  earth  in  his  fierce  anger,  but  Theodoric 
wrote  him  a  letter,  of  which  the  tone  is  more  one 
of  command  than  of  advice,  warning  him  not  to 
come  farther.  No  one  else  on  earth  could  have  said 
to  the  fierce  Frankish  king,  "Thus  far  shalt  thou 
come  and  no  farther,"  and  been  obeyed.  But  Clovis 
turned  from  his  march  and  went  back  to  his  own 
domain. 

For  a  time  Clovis  did  not  encroach  on  the  Gothic 
territory.  Then  his  ambition  led  him  to  his  undoing. 
He  could  not  rest  in  the  thought  that  Theodoric  had 
commanded  him  and  he  had  turned  back,  and  he 
provoked  a  war  with  his  nearest  Gothic  neighbor,  the 
son-in-law  of  the  great  king.  Once  more  Theodoric 
warned  him,  but  this  time  he  did  not  heed,  and  there 
followed  a  war  in  which  Theodoric  himself  after  his 
long  years  of  peace  was  forced  to  join,  and  in  which 
Clovis  was  defeated  and  forced  to  give  up  part  of 
the  lands  which  he  had  won  by  conquest,  and  make 
a  lasting  peace  with  Theodoric. 


90  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Our  last  picture  of  Clovis  is  a  strange  one. 
Returning  to  Paris,  humiliated  no  doubt  by  the 
thought  that  while  he  could  hold  his  own  wide 
kingdom  he  could  not  harm  Theodoric,  he  set  up 
his  government  there  and,  longing  for  recognition  of 
his  power,  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  far-off 
Roman  emperor  at  Constantinople.  It  is  a  sign  of 
the  wonderful  hold  which  Rome  had  gained  in  the 
past  over  the  minds  of  the  barbarians  that  now,  when 
she  was  but  a  name,  they  sought  her  titles.  Theodoric, 
who  had  made  the  world  forget  his  barbarian  origin 
by  his  noble  work  as  civilizer  and  peacemaker,  still 
refrained  from  adopting  the  title,  to  which  he  had  a 
right,  of  "  Emperor  of  the  Western  World,"  out  of 
respect  to  a  Roman  emperor  hundreds  of  miles  away. 
And  Clovis,  the  most  barbarian  of  the  Teutonic 
rulers,  as  Theodoric  was  the  most  noble,  was  pleased 
as  a  child  when  the  Roman  emperor  sent  him 
the  tunic  of  purple  and  the  diadem  which  signi- 
fied that  he  was  a  Roman  consul.  Putting  them  on, 
Clovis  mounted  his  horse,  and  calling  his  people 
together  that  they  might  see  him  he  rode  in  his 
purple  garment  from  one  end  of  Paris  to  the  other, 
scattering  with  his  own  hand  gold  and  silver  coins 
among  his  subjects  in  response  to  their  admiring 
cries  of  "  Clovis  Consul !  "  "  Clovis  Augustus  !  " 


otthe 
UNIVERS/TY 

OF  . 

^THREE  TITLES  9 1 

Three  titles  the  ambitious  barbarian  had  won  for 
himself  in  the  forty-five  years  of  his  life.  He  had 
been  crowned  "  King  of  the  Franks,"  and  in  that 
name  was  written  the  story  of  his  success  as  a 
warrior.  To  be  M  King  of  the  Franks"  when  Clovis 
was  chosen  chief  of  his  tribe  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
would  have  meant  to  be  lord  over  all  the  other 
Frankish  chieftains  and  tribes,  as  well  as  head  of  his 
own.  The  father  of  Clovis  would  have  doubted  if 
any  one  man  could  gain  such  power.  But  that  would 
have  been  to  rule  only  a  small  part  of  the  region 
west  of  the  Rhine.  To  be  "King  of  the  Franks" 
when  Clovis  died  was  to  rule  the  Roman  and  the 
Teutonic  peoples  who  dwelt  in  the  lands  from  the 
Rhine  to  the  Pyrenees.  This  Frankish  empire  which 
Clovis  had  founded  was  soon  to  lead  all  Christendom. 

At  his  baptism  Clovis  had  been  greeted  as  "  Eldest 
Son  and  Supporter  of  the  Church,"  a  title  which 
was  to  lead  his  successors  into  crusades  against  the 
whole  Mohammedan  world.  Now,  at  the  end  of  his 
life,  he  received  the  empty  honors  of  the  dying 
Roman  Empire,  and  it  was  over  these  that  he  and 
his  people  went  wild  with  delight. 


RODERICK  AND  THE  SARACENS 

LEGEND  tells  us  that  there  was  in  the  heart  of 
.•  Spain  a  palace,  built  within  a  cave  in  the  olden 
days  of  magic  and'  mystery,  wherein  was  hid  the 
fate  of  the  Gothic  kingdom  in  Spain,  and  that  it 
was  because  Roderick  penetrated  its  secrets  that  he 
was  the  last  king  of  the  Goths. 

An  ancient  prophecy  had  foretold,  so  the  story 
ran,  that  barbarians  would  one  day  cross  over  from 
Africa  and  conquer  the  fair  land  of  Spain.  A  wise 
old  king  heard  this  prophetic  word  and  determined 
to  use  the  powers  of  magic,  in  which  he  was  well 
versed,  to  set  this  evil  day  as  far  along  as  possible. 
For  this  purpose  he  built  within  the  great  cave  a 
palace  with  many  windings  and  turnings,  and  cast 
over  it  a  spell.  In  the  innermost  room  he  placed  a 
secret  talisman,  and  by  the  powers  of  magic  he 
brought  it  to  pass  that  as  long  as  this  talisman 
remained  undisturbed  and  none  knew  its  secret,  so 
long  Spain  should  be  safe  from  invasion.  He  could 
not  prevent  the  prophecy  from  coming  true  some 
time,  for  so  it  had  been  decreed  by  the  Fates ;  but 

because  of  his  wisdom  and   his  great  love  for  his 

92 


THE  MAGIC  PALACE  93 

land  it  was  given  to  him  to  set  this  check  upon  the 
coming  of  that  terrible  day. 

A  strong  iron  gate  barred  the  entrance  to  the  palace, 
and  upon  this  the  king  put  a  huge  lock.  In  the  cen- 
turies which  followed,  every  king  of  Spain  came  upon 
the  day  of  his  accession  to  the  throne  and  added  a 
lock,  until  the  door  was  covered  with  fastenings. 

Thirty-two  padlocks,  most  of  them  rusty  with  age, 
hung  from  the  gate  when  Roderick  came  to  the 
throne.  It  was  two  hundred  years  since  the  death 
of  Theodoric,  and  the  Goths  had  lost  in  that  time 
their  former  glory  and  supremacy  in  Europe.  The 
Teutonic  kingdom  which  Theodoric  had  tried  to 
build  up  had  fallen  to  pieces  when  his  strong  leader- 
ship was  gone.  Only  in  Spain  did  the  Goths  retain 
their  power,  and  in  that  luxurious  southern  land,  with 
its  vineyards  and  its  palaces,  they  had  gradually  lost 
the  strength  and  simplicity  which  they  had  brought 
from  the  north,  and  had  become  a  weak  and  sinful 
people.  Kings  had  vied  with  their  nobles  in  oppress- 
ing the  common  people  and  making  the  court  a  place 
of  wickedness.  The  last  monarch  had  been  deposed 
for  his  tyranny ;  and  his  cousin  Roderick  had  seized 
the  throne  by  force  but  with  the  support  of  the 
people,  who  saw  in  him  bravery  and  daring,  and 
thought  they  discerned  wisdom  and  sagacity  as  well. 


94  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

The  day  came  when  Roderick  should  add  his  lock 
to  the  collection  on  the  gateway,  but  the  story  spread 
through  the  startled  kingdom  that  the  new  king  had 
declared  his  intention  of  opening  the  gate  instead. 
Perhaps  the  story  of  the  reason  for  the  locked  door 
had  been  forgotten  in  the  centuries ;  perhaps  the  fatal 
curiosity  and  reckless  daring  of  Roderick  would  not 
have  been  held  back  even  by  the  ancient  tale  of  the 
evil  which  would  befall  his  realm  when  the  secret  was 
known.  The  pleasure-loving  Goth  met  the  protests  of 
his  counselors  with  a  laugh  and  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

"It  is  no  talisman,  but  a  treasure  house,"  he  said 
to  them.  "  The  old  king  was  a  miser  who  desired 
to  keep  his  wealth  from  others,  and  so  he  made  this 
clever  story  of  a  spell  and  magic,  and  his  ruse  has 
succeeded  with  a  credulous  people  all  these  centuries. 
Gold  and  silver  and  jewels  lie  hidden  in  its  moldy 
depths.  My  coffers  are  empty,  and  I  should  be  a 
fool  to  let  a  cluster  of  rusty  locks  keep  me  from 
filling  them  from  this  ancient  storehouse." 

The  fear  of  the  mystery  was  so  heavy  on  the  wise 
men  of  the  kingdom  that  they  offered  to  raise  the 
needed  money  for  Roderick,  if  he  would  refrain  from 
disturbing  the  palace.  Then  Roderick  showed  that 
he  was  a  true  Goth.  Gold  had  tempted  him  greatly, 
but  these  words  set  the  seal  on  his  purpose. 


THE  ANCIENT  SPELL 


95 


M  Now  I  will  surely  go,"  he  said  ;  "  it  shall  never 
be  said  that  Don  Rodrigo,  king  of  the  Goths,  was 
halted  by  fear !  " 

The  ancient  locks  were  filed  and  torn  from  the 
gate ;  the  rusty  hinges  were  forced  to  yield ;  and 
the  king,  bearing  a  torch  in  his  hand,  passed  through 
the  creaking  portals  and,  followed  by  his  train,  en- 
tered the  cave  palace.  The  dust  of  centuries  lay 
upon  the  rooms,  but  as  the  king  strode  through  one 
chamber  after  another  he  found  no  gold  nor  hidden 
treasure.  He  had  almost  thrown  off  the  feeling  of 
dread  with  which,  in  spite  of  his  bold  words,  the  en- 
trance into  the  century-old  cavern  had  inspired  him, 
when  he  came  to  the  last  room  of  all,  where  the  fatal 
secret  was  reported  to  be  shut  away. 

Roderick  glanced  curiously  about  this  inner  shrine 
to  see  wherein  lay  the  terrible  magic.  Before  him 
was  a  marble  urn  containing  a  parchment  scroll, 
and  on  the  wall  opposite  the  door  was  a  rude  paint- 
ing, drawn  on  the  plastered  wall  and  so  brightly 
colored  that  even  the  dust  of  centuries  could  not 
wholly  dim  the  gay  reds  and  yellows  and  greens. 
The  picture  represented  a  group  of  strangely  dressed 
horsemen.  The  steeds  upon  which  they  sat  were  of 
Arabian  breed,  small  and  well  formed.  Some  of  the 
warriors,  for  such  their  lances  and  pennons  showed 


96  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

them  to  be,  wore  turbans  ;  others  were  bareheaded, 
with  locks  of  coarse  black  hair  hanging  over  their 
foreheads.  All  were  dressed  in  skins  and  presented 
a  strange  and  warlike  appearance. 

Puzzled,  over  the  meaning  of  this  rude  picture 
Roderick  turned  to  the  scroll  and  read  these  words : 
"  Unfortunate  king,  it  is  an  evil  hour  in  which 
thou  hast  come.  Whenever  this  room  is  entered  and 
this  scroll  read,  the  people  shown  in  yonder  picture 
shall  invade  the  land  and  overturn  the  throne  of  its 
kings.  The  rule  of  the  Goth  shall  end,  and  the 
land  and  the  people  shall  be  degraded  by  barbarian 
invaders/ ' 

Roderick  had  read  the  ancient  inscription  slowly, 
spelling  out  aloud  the  dim  old  lettering  as  he  de- 
ciphered it.  As  he  finished,  the  long-silent  passages 
gave  back  the  echo,  so  that  the  courtiers,  who  had 
drawn  back  in  fear  when  their  king  entered  the 
magic  room,  heard  it  repeated,  and  the  sound  of  it 
came  with  an  unearthly  force  to  Roderick :  "  The 
rule  of  the  Goth  shall  end,  —  the  land  and  the 
people  be  degraded  by  barbarian  invaders." 

Then  King  Roderick  looked  back  at  the  picture, 
and  his  eyes  were  opened  to  see  its  meaning.  The 
peoples  who  had  looked  strange  yet  familiar  were 
the  Arabs  (the  turban-wearers)  and  the  Moors  (the 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  SARACENS        97 

black-haired  warriors)  who  had  conquered  all  Africa 
and  were  already  gazing  longingly  across  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar  into  the  sunny  provinces  of  Spain.  He 
had  broken  the  spell,  and  now  they  would  come  over. 
The  rash  king  fled  through  the  empty  passages,  — 
his  courtiers  had  already  disappeared,  —  and  escaped 
into  the  open  air  where  they  were  waiting  in  terror. 
That  night  an  earthquake  destroyed  the  cave  palace. 

It  was  a  simple  magic  when  it  came  to  the  light. 
The  power  of  fear,  which  the  old  king  by  his  words 
had  held  away  from  them  for  so  long,  came  upon 
the  king  and  all  the  people.  They  had  sinned,  and 
their  hour  had  come.  There  was  no  hope  for  them. 
They  were  doomed.  So  Roderick  felt  in  his  heart 
when  within  a  year  the  hordes  of  Arabs  and  Moors 
—  Saracens  the  people  of  Europe  called  them  — 
came  over  into  Spain. 

"  The  Hun,"  a  wise  writer  has  said,  "  was  a  more 
terrible  foe  than  the  Saracen.  But  the  Goth  con- 
quered him  in  a  generation,  almost  in  a  day,  when 
he  came  to  meet  him  face  to  face.  Against  the 
Mohammedan  peoples,  the  barbaric  races  of  Arabs 
and  Moors,  the  Teuton  had  to  fight  for  five  hun- 
dred years." 

The  Goth  was  the  first  member  of  the  Teutonic 
family  of  nations  to  meet  the  Saracen,  but  whereas 


98  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

in  the  days  of  Attila,  the  Goth  had  been  the  noblest 
of  the  peoples,  now  he  was  the  weakest,  and  he 
went  down  in  defeat  before  the  Eastern  races  which 
swarmed  into  his  land. 

A  traitor  Goth  gave  the  Saracens  the  opportunity 
to  come  over  into  Spain  at  a  time  when  King  Rod- 
erick was  quelling  a  disturbance  in  the  north,  and 
they  had  landed  in  great  numbers  and  established 
themselves  in  his  kingdom  before  he  could  reach  the 
south.  In  the  state  of  a  Gothic  king  he  had  traveled 
from  the  north,  riding  in  a  chariot  of  ivory  lined 
with  cloth  of  gold,  drawn  by  three  white  mules. 
Pearls,  rubies,  and  other  jewels  sparkled  from  the 
rich  silken  awning,  and  the  king,  when  he  rode  on 
the  battle  field  of  Guadelete,  where  the  two  armies 
were  drawn  up,  was  clad  in  a  robe  of  silk  inter- 
woven with  strings  of  pearls,  and  wore  upon  his  head 
a  crown  of  gold.  Only  his  yellow  hair  and  his  blue 
eyes  would  have  reminded  one  that  he  was  of  the 
race  of  the  old  barbarian  kings  who  had  sent  terror 
into  Europe  from  the  north  even  as  the  Saracens 
were  bringing  it  from  the  far  south. 

It  was  not  personal  vanity  which  made  Roderick 
approach  in  this  splendor ;  it  was  the  custom  of 
Spanish  kings,  and  the  people  took  new  courage  as 
he  rode  on  his  throne  of  ivory  through  the  ranks  and 


THE  BATTLE  OF  GUADELETE  99 

reminded  them  of  the  glory  of  their  Gothic  ances- 
tors and  of  the  holy  Christian  faith  which  they  were 
defending.  When  the  battle  began,  the  king  did  not 
sit  idle  in  his  chariot.  He  laid  aside  his  crown  and, 
donning  his  helmet  adorned  with  horns  of  gold  after 
the  old  Gothic  custom,  mounted  his  milk-white  war 
horse  Orelia  and  took  his  place  in  the  forefront  of 
the  battle.  As  he  came  in  sight  of  the  heathen  host 
it  is  said  that  he  exclaimed,  M  By  the  faith  of  the 
Messiah,  those  are  the  very  men  whom  I  saw  painted 
on  the  walls  of  the  chamber  of  the  palace." 

If  fear  entered  Roderick's  heart  at  the  sight  of  the 
pictured  barbarians  on  the  palace  wall,  it  did  not 
govern  him  when  he  met  them  face  to  face  in  battle. 
In  the  three  days  during  which  the  conflict  raged 
he  was  everywhere  in  the  fiercest  of  the  fight,  en- 
couraging and  leading  his  men.  At  first  the  victory 
seemed  to  be  with  the  Christians.  Then  the  tide  of 
success  turned  and  the  attacks  of  the  Moslems  beat 
the  Goths  back,  back,  back  toward  the  mountains. 
Here  and  there  resistance  would  be  attempted  and 
the  line  would  be  broken  for  a  moment,  but  soon 
the  forces  would  be  cut  down  and  scattered,  and  the 
steady,  relentless  pressure  would  go  on.  King  Rod- 
erick was  thrown  from  his  fleet  steed  Orelia  and 
wandered  defenseless  on  the  field  till  at  last  he  threw 


IOO  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

aside  his  purple  mantle  and  his  embroidered  sandals, 
by  which  he  would  be  recognized  by  the  enemy  as 
king,  and  among  the  very  last  followed  the  example  of 
the  survivors  of  the  Gothic  army  and  fled  from  the 
field.  A  picture  of  the  defeated  king  wandering  about 
after  the  battle  has  been  preserved  in  an  old  ballad, 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  Spaniards,  and  to  those  who 
know  it  in  English  by  Mr.  Lockhart's  translation. 

The  hosts  of  Don  Rodrigo  were  scattered  in  dismay, 
When  lost  was  the  eighth  battle,  nor  heart  nor  hope  had  they ; 
He,  when  he  saw  that  field  was  lost,  and  all  his  hope  was  flown, 
He  turned  him  from  his  flying  host,  and  took  his  way  alone. 

His  horse  was  bleeding,  blind,  and  lame, — he  could  no  farther  go; 
Dismounted,  without  path  or  aim,  the  king  stepped  to  and  fro ; 
It  was  a  sight  of  pity  to  look  on  Roderick, 
For,  sore  athirst  and  hungry,  he  staggered,  faint  and  sick. 

All  stained  and  strewed  with  dust  and  blood,  like  to  some 

smoldering  brand 
Plucked  from  the  flame,  Rodrigo  showed :  —  his  sword  was  in 

his  hand, 
But  it  was  hacked  into  a  saw  of  dark  and  purple  tint ; 
His  jeweled  mail  had  many  a  flaw,  his  helmet  many  a  dint. 

He  climbed  unto  a  hilltop,  the  highest  he  could  see, 
Thence  all  about  of  that  wide  rout  his  last  long  look  took  he ; 
He  saw  his  royal  banners,  where  they  lay  drenched  and  torn, 
He  heard  the  cry  of  victory,  the  Arab's  shout  of  scorn. 


"TO-DAY  NO  KING  AMI"  ioi 

He  looked  for  the  brave  captains  that  led  the  hosts  of  Spain, 
But  all  were  fled  except  the  dead,  and  who  could  count  the 

slain  ? 
Where'er  his  eye  could  wander,  all  bloody  was  the  plain, 
And,   while  thus  he  said,  the  tears  he  shed  run  down  his 

cheeks  like  rain  :  — 

"  Last  night  I  was  the  King  of  Spain,  —  to-day  no  king  am  I ; 
Last  night  fair  castles  held  my  train, — to-night  where  shall  I  lie  ? 
Last  night  a  hundred  pages  did  serve  me  on  the  knee,  — 
To-night  not  one  I  call  mine  own  :  —  not  one  pertains  to  me. 

"  Oh,  luckless,  luckless  was  the  hour,  and  cursed  was  the  day, 
When  I  was  born  to  have  the  power  of  this  great  signiory ! 
Unhappy  me,  that  I  should  see  the  sun  go  down  to-night ! 
O   Death,  why  now  so  slow  art  thou,  why  fearest  thou  to 
smite  ? 

Neither  Goth  nor  Moslem  ever  knew  the  fate  of 
the  unhappy  king,  whose  defeat  at  Guadelete  ended 
three  centuries  of  Gothic  rule  in  Spain  and  ushered 
in  eight  centuries  of  Saracen  dominion.  One  story 
is  that  he  found  his  way  to  a  monastery  and  there 
did  penance  for  his  sins  until  the  death  he  longed 
for  delivered  him.  Those  who  tell  this  tale  say  that 
in  a  hermitage  in  Spain  there  was  found  two  hun- 
dred years  later  a  tomb  with  the  simple  inscription, 
"  Here  lies  Roderick,  last  king  of  the  Goths/' 


CHARLEMAGNE 


LHRISTENDOM  would  have 
fared  ill  if  it  had  had  in  the 
eighth  century  no  stronger 
defender  than  Roderick  and 
the  weakened  Goths,  for  it 
was  pressed  on  every  side  by 
heathen  and  barbaric  peoples. 
There  had  been  indeed  no 
united  Christendom  since  the 
death  of  Theodoric  two  hun- 
dred years  before.  The  union 
of  Christian  nations,  into  which  the  barbarian  Clovis 
had  been  the  last  king  to  be  admitted,  had  fallen 
to  pieces  at  Theodoric' s  death,  and  no  man  had 
been  strong  enough  to  unite  the  warring  tribes  and 
nations  of  the  Teutonic  and  Roman  races  until 
there  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Clovis  the  Frank- 
ish  Charles,  known  in  history  as  Charlemagne,  or 
Charles  the  Great. 

Charlemagne  was  the  hero  of  Europe  for  all  the 
Middle  Ages.  Even  the  Saxons,  who  had  every 
reason  to  hate  him  as  their  conqueror,  wrote  on  the 


THE  MAN  OF  IRON  103 

pages  of  history,  "  The  best  man  on  earth  and  the 
bravest  was  Charles  :  truth  and  good  faith  he  estab- 
lished and  kept."  In  the  hour  when  they  trembled 
before  his  "fierce  fury"  the  barbarian  nations  ad- 
mired the  Frankish  king.  But  how  they  feared  him  ! 
There  is  a  story  of  Didier,  a  Lombard  king  who 
opposed  him  and  was  driven  by  his  armies  within 
the  walls  of  the  strongest  city  of  the  Lombards. 

Didier  had  never  seen  the  Frankish  king,  but 
Otger  his  friend  had  been  at  his  court.  When  they 
heard  that  the  formidable  Charles  was  approaching, 
the  two  went  up  to  a  high  tower  to  spy  him  from 
afar. 

When  the  baggage  train  appeared,  followed  by  the 
engines  of  war  with  which  to  attack  the  city,  Didier 
said  to  Otger,  "  Is  Charles  in  that  great  host  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Otger,  M  Charles  is  not  yet  there." 

Then  Didier  saw  a  host  of  common  soldiery  com- 
ing, and  spoke  confidently,  ('Of  a  truth  Charles 
advances  now  in  this  throng." 

"  No,  no,"  replied  Otger,  "  not  yet." 

The  king  fretted  himself  and  cried,  "  What  then 
shall  we  do  if  he  has  more  than  these  ? " 

"  The  manner  of  his  coming  you  will  see,"  replied 
Otger,  solemnly,  "but  what  shall  become  of  us  I 
know  not."   For  Otger  was  afraid  ;  well  he  knew  the 


104  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

wealth  and  might  of  the  peerless  Charles.  "  When 
you  see  the  plain  bristle  with  a  harvest  of  spears,  and 
rivers  of  black  iron  come  flowing  in  upon  your  city 
walls,  then  you  may  look  for  the  coming  of  Charles." 

While  yet  he  spoke,  as  the  chronicler  tells  it,  a 
black  cloud  arose  in  the  west  and  the  glorious  day- 
light was  turned  to  darkness.  The  emperor  came 
on ;  a  dawn  of  spears  darker  than  night  rose  on  the 
besieged  city.  King  Charles,  that  man  of  iron,  ap- 
peared. Iron  his  helmet,  iron  his  gauntlet,  iron  the 
corselet  on  his  breast  and  shoulders.  His  left  hand 
grasped  an  iron  lance.  Iron  the  spirit,  iron  the  hue 
of  his  war  steed.  Before,  behind,  and  at  his  side 
rode  men  arrayed  in  the  same  guise.  Iron  filled  the 
plain  and  open  spaces ;  iron  points  flashed  back  the 
sunlight. 

"  There  is  the  man  whom  you  would  see,"  said 
Otger  to  the  king. 

Charlemagne  is  described  as  "  large  and  strong, 
and  of  lofty  stature,  though  not  over-tall.  His  eyes 
were  very  large  and  animated,  his  nose  long,  his  hair 
fair,  and  his  face  laughing  and  merry.  His  appear- 
ance was  always  stately  and  dignified,  whether  he 
was  standing  or  sitting." 

V  Charlemagne  used  to  wear,"  the  chronicler  con- 
tinues, "the  national,  that  is  to  say  the  Frankish, 


io5 


106  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

dress,  —  next  his  skin  a  linen  shirt  and  linen 
breeches,  and  above  these  a  tunic  fringed  with  silk ; 
while  hose  covered  his  lower  limbs,  and  shoes  his 
feet,  and  he  protected  his  chest  in  winter  by  a  close- 
fitting  coat  of  otter  or  marten  skins.  Over  all  he 
flung  a  blue  cloak,  and  he  always  had  a  sword  girt 
about  him,  usually  one  with  a  gold  or  silver  hilt  and 
belt ;  he  sometimes  carried  a  jeweled  sword,  but 
only  on  great  feast  days.  On  these  he  made  use 'of 
embroidered  clothes,  and  shoes  bedecked  with  precious 
stones ;  his  cloak  was  fastened  by  a  golden  buckle, 
and  he  appeared  crowned  with  a  diadem  of  gold  and 
gems ;  but  on  other  days  his  dress  varied  little  from 
the  common  dress  of  the  people.  Above  all  things 
he  despised  foreign  costumes,  however  handsome." 
This  is  the  portrait,  as  it  has  come  down  to  us 
by  pen  and  picture,  of  the  great  ruler  who  came 
in  the  year  800  to  the  gates  of  Rome,  the  first 
Teuton  to  receive  the  title  "  Emperor  of  Rome," 
—  the  man  who  stands  in  history  halfway  between 
the  ancient  world  and  the  modern,  the  central 
figure  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  barbarian  of  one 
age  had  become  the  noble  of  the  next.  The  Pope 
of  the  Christian  Church  received  him  at  the  gates 
of  the  city,  for  had  he  not  restored  and  extended 
the    ancient    bounds    of    Christendom?     He  had 


"EMPEROR  OF  ROME"  107 

found  Christendom  smaller  than  in  the  days  of 
Theodoric,  much  smaller  than  the  extent  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Spain  had  been  lost  since  the  three 
days'  battle  of  Guadelete ;  Slavic  peoples  held  the 
eastern  lands  which  Theodoric  and  his  Goths  had  for- 
saken to  come  over  into  Italy  ;  and  beyond  the  Rhine 
border  heathen  Saxons  had  occupied  the  northern 
regions  which  Goths  had  held  in  the  days  of  Drusus 
and  Athanaric.  In  twenty-five  years  of  conquest 
Charlemagne  had  driven  back  the  Saracens,  who 
had  been  looking  with  longing  over  the  mountains 
into  the  fertile  plains  of  France.  Only  at  fearful 
cost  had  they  been  checked.  Roland  and  Oliver  and 
the  flower  of  the  Frankish  army  had  fallen  on  that 
terrible  day  at  Roncesvalles,  celebrated  in  song  and 
story,  but  they  had  not  died  in  vain  if  they  had  held 
back  the  stream  of  Moslem  warriors  from  Christen- 
dom. The  Saxons  had  been  conquered  and  brought 
to  Christianity ;  their  heathen  king  Wittekind  had 
received  baptism  in  the  presence  of  Charlemagne  on 
Frankish  soil ;  the  Slavic  peoples  had  been  driven 
back  and  subdued  ;  and  now  in  a  realm  where  peace 
and  prosperity  reigned,  the  great  warrior  had  laid 
down  his  arms  and  come  to  Rome  to  receive  the 
title  which  had  been  handed  down  by  the  proudest 
people  on  earth  for  many  centuries. 


IOS  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

On  Christmas  Day  the  Franks  and  Romans  went 
to  the  great  church  of  St.  Peter's  to  worship.  It  must 
have  been  an  impressive  scene,  —  the  huge  building 
but  dimly  lighted  with  candles,  save  for  the  altar, 
where  three  thousand  candles  made  a  great  triumphal 
arch ;  the  Pope  and  his  attendants  in  the  rich  robes 
of  their  office  conducting  the  stately  Christmas  serv- 
ice ;  Charlemagne  and  his  sons  kneeling  before  the 
altar,  a  little  apart  from  the  crowd.  Then  when  the 
service  was  over,  as  the  king  rose  from  his  knees, 
the  Pope  suddenly  came  forward  with  a  great  crown 
of  gold,  which  he  set  upon  his  head.  Instantly  the 
huge  assembly  responded  with  the  shout :  "  Long 
life  to  Charles  the  Augustus,  the  mighty  Charles, 
crowned  of  God,  the  great  and  pacific  Emperor  of 
the  Romans,"  and  the  Pope  and  all  the  people  gave 
him  homage. 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  PALACE 

THINK  of  a  school  where  all  the  pupils  were 
of  royal  blood,  and  where  an  emperor,  three 
princes,  heirs  to  the  thrones  of  Europe,  two  arch- 
bishops, a  queen,  three  young  princesses,  and  two  or 
three  courtiers  of  various  ranks  all  sat  down  and 
studied  lessons  together.  That  was  Charlemagne's 
School  of  the  Palace,  a  school  of  more  than  a 
thousand  years  ago,  which  traveled  about  with  him 
wherever  he  went. 

The  barbarian  invasions  had  destroyed  the  schools 
of  Rome,  and  since  then  there  had  been  hardly  any 
schools  in  all  Europe,  save  those  for  the  few  boys 
who  lived  in  the  monasteries.  The  four  centuries 
had  been  so  full  of  warfare  and  bloodshed  and  con- 
quest that  scholarship  and  the  arts  of  peace  had  al- 
most disappeared  from  Europe.  People  have  called 
those  times  the  "  Dark  Ages,"  because  the  light  of 
learning  seemed  to  have  been  blotted  out.  But  Charle- 
magne was  determined  that  his  subjects  should  not 
remain  barbarians.  So  he  set  up  the  first  free  public 
schools  in  Europe  and  made  a  decree,  which  was 
published  in  the  farthest  corners  of  his  realm,  that 

109 


IIO  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

every  boy,  whether  rich  or  poor,  son  of  a  serf  or  of 
a  freeman,  should  be  allowed  to  go  to  them.  But 
the  most  interesting  of  all  and  the  most  famous  was 
his  own  School  of  the  Palace. 

If  we  had  come  to  the  court  during  a  session,  I 
doubt  if  we  would  have  known  that  it  was  a  school 
at  all.  In  the  first  place  we  should  look  for  books, 
but  there  would  be  hardly  any  books,  for  this  was 
long  before  the  invention  of  printing,  and  the  few 
books  which  were  written  had  to  be  laboriously 
copied  letter  by  letter  and  sentence  by  sentence  by 
practiced  scribes.  So  books  were  very  rare  and  very 
precious.  There  would  be  no  writing  paper  like 
ours,  but  scrolls  of  heavy  parchment,  on  which  the 
learned  scholars  might  write  with  quill  pens,  and 
wax  tablets  and  steel  points  with  which  beginners 
might  practice  the  forming  of  letters. 

Charlemagne  could  never  learn  to  write.  He  be- 
gan too  late  in  life,  and,  though  he  used  to  keep 
blanks  and  tablets  under  his  pillow  in  bed  that  he 
might  practice  when  he  was  wakeful,  his  hand  was 
too  familiar  with  the  mighty  sword  Joyeuse  to  use 
skillfully  so  tiny  a  weapon  as  a  pen.  But  in  all 
else  that  was  taught  in  the  school  he  was  the  best 
student  of  all,  and  his  sons  and  his  daughters  had 
hard  work  to  keep  up  with  him. 


112  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

With  so  few  books  to  study,  everything  depended 
on  the  teacher,  who  had  to  give  out  what  should  be 
learned,  and  Charlemagne  sent  across  the  channel 
to  Britain  and  persuaded  the  great  English  scholar, 
Alcuin,  to  come  over  and  be  master  of  the  Palace 
School.  Alcuin  had  to  get  permission  of  the  English 
king,  for  he  was  a  very  famous  scholar,  and  learning 
was  greatly  prized  in  England ;  but  he  came  and 
taught  Charlemagne  and  his  court  for  fourteen  years, 
and  this  is  the  way  he  taught  them.  He  would  make 
up  a  series  of  questions  and  answers,  and  the  pupils 
would  ask  the  questions  and  he  give  the  answers 
until  they  knew  them  thoroughly.  Sometimes  the 
scholars  would  think  up  their  own  questions ;  and 
Alcuin  tells  us  that  he  used  to  rise  before  daybreak 
and  study  out  answers  to  some  of  the  emperor's  per- 
plexing questions,  for  there  was  no  subject  in  heaven 
or  earth  about  which  Charlemagne  did  not  have  a 
passionate  curiosity. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  studies  which  were 
taught  are  like  ours,  —  grammar,  arithmetic,  physi- 
ology, and  astronomy,  —  but  to  us  the  lessons 
seem  very  queer.  Here  are  some  of  the  questions 
in  the  dialogue  exercise  which  Alcuin  gave  to  his 
sixteen-year-old  pupil,  Pepin,  Charlemagne's  son.  It 
began  with    physiology.    Pepin  was  to  ask,  "  What 


PEPIN'S  LESSON  113 

is  the  mouth  ?  "  and  Alcuin  would  answer,  -1  The 
nourisher  of  the  body,  because  all  food  comes  in 
through  it."  "  What  is  the  stomach  ?  "  would  be  the 
next  question,  and  the  answer  would  be,  "  The  cook 
of  the  food."  M  What  is  the  head  ?  "  "  The  preserver 
of  memory."  "And  the  eyes  ?  "  the  boy  was  to  ask, 
"  what  are  they  ? "  li  The  eyes,  my  son,  are  the 
guides  of  the  body,  the  organs  of  light,  the  index 
of  the  soul."  The  hands,  Alcuin  taught,  were  the 
workmen  of  the  body,  the  bones  were  the  strength  of 
the  body,  and  the  limbs  were  the  columns  of  the  body. 
Twenty-six  questions  and  answers  like  this  would  be 
all  that  Prince  Pepin  would  ever  be  required  to  know 
about  physiology,  and  then  Alcuin  would  turn  to 
another  subject,  perhaps  to  arithmetic,  where  he 
would  teach,  among  other  things,  that  man  was 
placed  between  six  walls,  the  names  of  which  were 
M  above,  below,  before,  behind,  right  and  left." 

Some  of  the  answers  in  this  exercise  were  very 
pretty  and  poetical.  Spring  was  called  "  the  painter 
of  the  earth  "  because  it  brought  so  many  fresh  colors 
to  the  barren  fields  and  trees  and  hill  slopes,  and 
autumn  was  M  the  barn  of  the  year "  because  the 
earth  brought  forth  at  that  time  her  rich  harvests, 
which  must  be  stored  up  to  preserve  life  through 
the  long,  unfruitful  winter.   When  Pepin  inquired  of 


114  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

his  master  what  snow  was,  he  was  told  "  dry  water," 
and  frost  was  described  to  him  as  "  a  persecutor  of 
plants  and  a  destroyer  of  leaves."  The  sun  dis- 
tributed the  hours  of  the  day,  the  moon  was  thought 
to  dispense  the  dew  and  give  warning  of  storms, 
while  the  stars  were  "  the  pictures  of  the  roof  of 
the  heavens,  the  guides  of  sailors,  the  ornament 
of  night." 

To  us  they  seem  strange  lessons  taught  at  a 
very  queer  school,  where  old  men  and  children  sat 
down  together  and  puzzled  over  the  wonderful  world 
in  which  they  lived,  trying  to  understand  and  explain 
it.  But  remember  that  this  and  other  schools  like  it 
were  the  beginning  out  of  which  all  our  schools  have 
grown,  and  that  if  Charlemagne  had  cared  only  for 
war  and  conquest  and  destruction,  as  did  Attila  the 
Hun,  the  world  would  have  remained  barbarian  for 
a  great  many  years  longer  than  it  did. 


VIKINGS   FROM  THE  NORTH 

WHEN  Emperor  Charlemagne  was  an  old  man, 
nearing  the  end  of  his  life,  he  came,  so  the 
story  goes,  to  the  Frankish  seaport  town  of  Nar- 
bonne.  As  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  hall,  he  looked  out 
and  saw  white  sails  on  the  horizon.  The  towns- 
people watched  the  ships  as  they  came  nearer,  and 
commented  on  their  strange  appearance.  Some 
thought  that  they  were  Jewish  merchants,  some  that 
they  hailed  from  African  ports,  and  others  that  they 
came  from  Britain.  But  the  wise  king,  knowing  from 
the  shape  and  swiftness  of  the  vessels  what  sort  of 
crews  they  carried,  said  to  those  about  him,  "  These 
ships  bear  no  merchandise,  but  cruel  foes." 

The  Franks  marveled  at  his  words  and  prepared 
to  defend  their  city  should  the  strangers  attack  it. 
But  there  was  no  need.  The  Northmen,  hearing 
that  there  stood  the  man  whom  they  were  wont  to 
call  Charles  the  Great,  were  afraid  lest  all  their  fleet 
should  be  taken  in  the  port  and  broken  to  pieces. 
Their  flight  was  so  rapid  that  they  "  soon  withdrew 
themselves  not  only  from  the  swords  but  even  from 
the  eyes  of  those  who  wished  to  take  them."    The 

115 


Il6  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Franks  rejoiced  at  their  speedy  departure,  congratu- 
lating themselves  that  the  danger  was  so  soon 
overpast.  But  the  wise  Charles,  seized  by  a  deep  fore- 
boding, rose  from  his  seat  at  the  table  and  looked 
out  of  the  window  toward  the  east.  Long  he  re- 
mained in  that  position,  and  those  who  watched  him 
saw  tears  in  his  eyes.  No  one  ventured  to  question 
the  venerable  emperor,  but  turning  to  his  followers 
he  said  :  "  Know  ye  why  I  weep  ?  Truly  I  fear  not 
that  these  will  injure  me.  But  I  am  deeply  grieved  that 
in  my  lifetime  they  should  have  been  so  near  landing 
on  these  shores,  and  I  am  overwhelmed  with  sorrow 
as  I  look  forward  and  see  what  woes  they  will  bring 
upon  my  posterity  and  their  people." 

Thus  the  great  emperor,  who  had  reorganized  the 
whole  Christian  world  and  driven  back  barbarians 
without  number,  saw  in  his  old  age  the  beginning  of 
the  great  Viking  invasions,  which  were  to  change  the 
face  of  northern  Europe  and  the  British  Isles. 

Men  of  the  south  had  always  since  the  days  of 
the  Romans  looked  upon  the  far  north  as  a  region 
of  mystery.  Drusus  had  won  great  fame  by  being 
the  first  Roman  captain  who  had  ventured  to  set  sail 
on  that  dread  Northern  Ocean,  of  which  a  Roman 
historian  had  written  :  M  Beyond  Germania  lies  the 
Northern  Ocean,  and  in  it  lies  an  island  rich  in  arms 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  NORTH       1 1 7 

and  ships  and  men.  Beyond  that  is  another  sea,  which 
we  may  believe  girdles  and  encloses  the  whole  world. 
For  here  the  light  of  the  setting  sun  lingers  on  till 
sunrise,  bright  enough  to  dim  the  light  of  the  stars. 
More  than  that,  it  is  asserted  that  the  sound  of  his 
rising  is  to  be  heard,  and  the  forms  of  the  gods,  and 
the  glory  round  his  head  may  be  seen.  Only  thus 
far,  and  here  rumor  seems  truth,  does  the  world 
extend." 

What  happened  in  these  far  northern  regions  the 
men  of  heathendom  did  not  venture  to  say.  Perhaps 
the  souls  of  the  dead  dwelt  there,  and  these  boatmen 
who  appeared  from  time  to  time  rowed  the  souls  of 
those  who  were  departing  this  life  across  to  the 
better  land  of  the  sunrise  and  the  sunset  whence 
none  might  return.  It  was  all  mystery  to  the  super- 
stitious Teuton,  and  those  who  came  forth  from  the 
north  were  therefore  invested  with  a  strange  terror. 

The  dragon  ships  which  appeared  in  their  peace- 
ful harbors  did  not  make  the  men  of  Christendom 
less  fearful.  On  the  curved  prow  of  every  Viking 
ship  was  the  head  of  a  dragon  or  worm  or  other  fan- 
tastic creature,  and  in  the  vessel  were  tall,  blue-eyed 
barbarians  with  terrible  two-handed  axes,  which  they 
wielded  with  fearful  force  and  dexterity.  Swiftly  and 
silently  a  fleet  of  such  vessels  would  enter  a  French 


Il8  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

port,  or  sail  up  the  mouth  of  a  wide  river,  and  pro- 
ceed inland,  stopping  at  every  rich  farm  to  seize 
produce,  plundering  the  cities  for  treasure,  attacking 
the  merchantmen  which  lay  along  the  wharves ; 
and  then,  before  a  force  could  be  summoned  to  beat 
them  off,  they  would  be  gone,  and  none  knew  whether 
it  would  be  a  year  or  a  month  or  a  generation  before 
they  would  come  again.  Only,  as  the  ninth  century 
went  on,  it  became  certain  that  they  would  come 
oftener  and  oftener,  till  the  forebodings  of  Charle- 
magne were  realized  and  the  terrified  and  helpless 
people  inserted  in  the  ritual  of  their  church  a  new 
petition,  "  From  the  Northmen's  fury,  O  Lord, 
deliver  us." 

There  came  an  hour  when  the  Franks  believed 
that  no  human  power  could  have  saved  them,  and 
gave  thanks  that  their  prayer  had  been  answered. 
The  Northmen,  or  Vikings  as  they  were  called,  for 
the  word  "  Viking  "  had  come  to  mean  sea  robber, 
made  their  way  up  the  Seine  River  to  Rouen.  Then, 
having  taken  that  city  and  made  their  progress  thus 
far  unchecked,  they  sailed  farther  up  the  river  into 
this  inland  realm,  with  its  walled  cities  and  tilled 
fields,  which  was  as  strange  to  these  foreigners  from 
the  bleak  Northland  as  their  mountain  islands  would 
have  been  to  the  Franks.    On  and  on  they  sailed,  a 


VIKINGS  SAILING  UP  THE  RIVER  TO  PARIS 


120  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

fleet  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  dragon  ships,  till  for 
the  first  time  Vikings  and  Viking  boats  lay  under  the 
walls  of  Paris.  That  was  as  strange  an  hour  in  history 
as  that  day,  more  than  four  hundred  years  before, 
when  Alaric  and  his  barbarians  stood  before  the  city 
of  Rome ;  and  not  the  least  strange  part  of  it  was 
that  in  the  great  family  of  races  these  Northmen  and 
the  Goths  of  that  former  day  were  kindred  peoples. 

Ragnar,  the  Viking  leader,  stood  at  the  prow  of  the 
foremost  ship  and  gazed  with  wonder  and  fierce  long- 
ing at  the  turrets  and  towers  of  the  fair  Frankish  city. 
Then  he  landed,  and  his  men  after  him,  — the  crews  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  ships,  —  and  rushed  through 
the  gates.  They  took  the  people  of  Paris  wholly  un- 
awares, for  no  one  had  dreamed  that  the  northern 
pirates  would  ever  come  so  far  inland.  Up  and  down 
the  streets  the  wild  bands  of  Northmen  went,  slaying 
those  who  came  in  their  way,  till  the  people  fled  in 
terror  to  their  homes,  leaving  their  city  in  the  hands 
of  the  barbarians. 

For  a  few  hours  the  Vikings  pursued  their  work 
of  destruction,  unchecked  save  by  groups  of  brave 
men  who  withstood  them  here  and  there  in  the  city. 
They  robbed  the  palaces  and  public  buildings  of 
their  treasures,  and  set  fire  to  each  before  they 
left  it.    They  had  no  respect  even  for  the  churches, 


THE  RAID  OF  RAGNAR  12 1 

but  entered  them  and  tore  down  pillars  of  marble 
and  precious  stone  and  stripped  the  altars  of  their 
gold  and  silver  vessels.  But  while  the  marauders 
were  in  the  church  of  St.  Germain  a  thick  fog  fell 
upon  the  city.  To  the  religious  Parisians  it  seemed 
that  u  God  blinded  the  heathen  by  the  darkness  of 
their  own  wickedness,' ■  and  in  the  Viking  accounts 
of  thig  "Raid  of  Ragnar  "  we  read  that  on  this 
voyage  the  ships  went  too  far  inland  and  "  came 
into  a  strange  region  of  mists  and  enchantments." 

The  Vikings  came  out  from  their  plundering  to 
find  the  face  of  Paris  changed.  A  thick  gray  mist 
shut  everything  from  their  view.  Before  they  had 
gone  a  dozen  steps,  the  church  from  which  they  had 
come  was  hidden  from  them.  They  could  not  tell 
which  way  the  street  turned,  but  blundered  about 
in  the  narrow  ways.  In  their  haste  for  treasure  and 
slaughter  none  had  noticed  carefully  where  they  were 
going,  and  now  a  cry  of  panic  arose  in  the  gloom 
when  they  realized  that  they  did  not  know  which  way 
the  ships  lay.  They  lost  each  other,  and  many  were 
killed  in  the  fights  in  the  darkness  when  no  one 
could  tell  which  was  Frank  and  which  was  Northman. 
Those  who  found  their  way  back  to  the  ships  waited 
as  long  as  they  dared  for  the  others,  but  at  last  terror 
seized  them  lest  they  should  never  be  able  to  escape 


122  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

to  the  broad  ocean.  In  a  panic  they  drew  up  their 
anchors,  and  setting  their  black  sails  and  pulling  on 
their  oars  besides,  they  departed  with  all  haste  down 
the  river  Seine. 

When  they  came  into  their  own  waters,  the  Vikings 
had  thought  they  could  shake  off  forever  the  spell  of 
that  evil  day  in  Paris.  But  they  found,  so  the  story 
goes,  that  the  enchantment  followed  them.  The 
fog  had  been  a  sickness-breeding  mist,  one  of  those 
warm  mists,  blown  up  from  the  river  lowlands,  which 
were  more  terrible  than  the  sword  to  the  mountain 
dwellers  of  the  north.  The  sickness  pursued  them 
to  their  own  land,  and  there  many  died ;  until  the 
heart  of  Ragnar  was  smitten  with  fear,  and  he  went 
to  the  king  and  confessed  to  him  that  he  had  robbed 
the  churches  and  had  brought  back  many  Christian 
prisoners,  and  that  he  feared  the  God  of  the  Chris- 
tians was  sending  this  sickness  as  a  punishment.  The 
king  hearkened  unto  Ragnar's  word  and  returned  all 
the  Christian  prisoners  to  the  Franks,  and  with  them 
a  wondrous  porphyry  pillar  (which  Ragnar  had 
wrenched  from  the  church  of  St.  Germain,  where 
the  fog  fell  upon  him)  and  a  host  of  silver  vessels. 
"When  this  offering  had  been  made,"  the  legend 
reads,  M  the  God  of  the  Franks  was  satisfied,  and 
our  men  recovered  of  their  sickness." 


ALFRED  AND  THE  DANES 

EUROPE  was  not  the  only  realm  to  be  caught  in 
the  flood  of  the  Northmen's  invasions.  "  This 
year,"  reads  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle  of  787, 
"  first  came  three  ships  of  the  Northmen  out  of  Nor- 
way. These  were  the  first  ships  of  Danish  men  that 
sought  Angle-land."  Across  the  waters  into  Britain 
where  the  Angles  and  Saxons  had  dwelt  for  four 
hundred  years,  and  where  they  were  beginning  to 
build  up  a  peaceful  and  united  and  civilized  order  of 
national  life,  came  the  fierce  northern  invaders  in 
their  black  dragon  ships.  Invasions  Britain  had  seen 
before.  The  Romans,  the  Picts  and  Scots,  and  the 
Saxons  had  all  in  their  turn  seized  the  kingdom 
by  force.  But  such  an  invasion  as  this  Britain  had 
never  suffered,  for  there  was  no  end  to  it.  To  con- 
quer in  one  battle  was  of  no  avail,  for  the  enemy 
would  shortly  invade  some  other  spot  with  a  larger 
fleet  and  a  stronger  force,  till  it  seemed  to  the  weary 
Saxons  that  all  the  barbarians  in  the  world  were 
come  to  their  shores. 

At  first  the  Northmen  came  only  to  harry  and 
plunder  the  land,  and  returned  after  their  summer 

123 


124  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

raids  to  their  own  land  with  their  spoil.  Henry  of 
Huntington  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  the  distress  and 
perplexity  of  the  kings  and  nobles  during  these  sum- 
mer raids.  w  Wonder  was  it,"  he  writes,  "  how  when 
the  English  kings  were  hasting  to  meet  the  Danes 
in  the  East,  ere  they  could  come  up  with  their  bands 
a  breathless  scout  would  run  in,  saying,  *  Sir  King, 
whither  marchest  thou  ?  The  heathen  have  landed 
in  the  South,  a  countless  fleet.  Towns  and  hamlets 
are  in  flames ;  fire  and  slaughter  are  on  every  side.' 
Yea,  and  that  very  day  another  would  come  running  : 
1  Sir  King,  why  withdrawest  thou  ?  A  fearsome  host 
has  come  to  shore  in  the  West.  If  ye  face  them  not 
speedily,  they  will  hold  that  ye  flee,  and  will  be  on 
your  rear  with  fire  and  sword.'  Again  on  the  mor- 
row would  dash  up  yet  another,  saying :  '  What 
place  make  ye  for,  noble  chieftains?  In  the  North 
the  Danes  have  made  a  raid.  Already  have  they 
burnt  your  dwellings.  Even  now  they  are  sweeping 
off  your  goods,  dishonoring  your  wives,  and  haling 
them  to  captivity.'  " 

It  was  no  wonder  that  the  king  and  the  people 
"  lost  heart  and  strength  both  of  mind  and  body,  and 
were  utterly  cast  down  ";  nor  that  it  seemed  to  the 
young  Alfred,  brought  to  the  throne  of  the  West 
Saxons  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  because  the  Danes 


THE  DANISH  HOST  125 

had  killed  his  brother  the  king  in  battle,  that  "  never 
might  he,  all  alone,  with  but  God  for  aid,  endure  so 
grievous  a  stress  and  strain  of  heathendom." 

Alfred  had  to  face  a  greater  peril  even  than  the 
fierce  but  brief  summer  raids,  for  the  Danes  had  be- 
gun twenty  years  before  his  accession  to  the  throne 
to  winter  in  England.  At  first  Northmen  who  came 
to  Britain  had  been  only  Vikings,  sea  robbers  out 
for  spoil,  who  cared  nothing  for  land  and  conquest ; 
but  in  these  later  years  the  Danes  had  come  and  had 
begun  to  bring  their  wives  and  children  and  goods 
and  settle  in  the  provinces  which  they  spoiled. 

One  month  only  the  young  king  Alfred  was  allowed 
to  reign  in  peace,  he  who  cared  more  than  any  king 
of  England  before  him  for  learning  and  arts,  and  de- 
sired nothing  so  much  as  to  rule  a  quiet,  peaceful 
land.  Then  he  was  attacked  by  the  Danes,  and  was 
forced  to  defend  his  kingdom  against  them  lest  soon 
he  have  no  kingdom  at  all,  for  the  Danes  "thought 
it  scorn  that  any  part  of  England  should  yet  be 
Alfred's."  Nine  battles  he  fought  against  the  heathen 
in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  to  say  nothing  of  num- 
berless raids  which  he  and  his  captains  made  with 
small  companies  of  men,  and  for  the  time  being  the 
invaders  were  held  back.  But  by  the  seventh  year  of 
his  kingship  they  had  conquered  and  occupied  all  the 


126  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

land  from  the  Thames  northward.  In  Northumbria 
and  East  Anglia  and  in  Mercia  and  around  London 
barbarian  kings  reigned.  Alfred  alone  of  all  the 
kings  of  the  provinces  of  Britain  remained  supreme 
in  his  own  realm.  In  more  than  two  thirds  of 
England  the  Danes  held  sway. 

Alfred  had  fought  the  Danes  successfully  both  on 
land  and  on  the  water,  but  in  the  year  878,  in  mid- 
winter, when  no  campaigns  had  been  fought  before, 
Guthrum  and  two  other  kings  of  the  Danes  with  a 
mighty  force  "  stole  away  to  Chippenham,  and  over- 
ran all  the  land  of  the  West  Saxons,  and  sat  them 
down  there.  With  wondrous  swarms  newly  come  in 
from  Denmark  the  barbarian  kings  spread  over  the 
land,  covering  the  face  of  the  earth  like  locusts,  and 
taking  all  for  themselves,  for  none  could  withstand 
them.  Many  of  the  folk  drave  they  oversea,  and,  of 
the  rest,  they  brought  under  the  most,  and  forced  them 
to  yield  to  their  sway,"  —  Had  the  story  ended  here, 
as  it  did  in  the  tale  of  the  conquest  of  every  other 
province  in  Britain,  all  history  would  have  been 
changed.  Danes  instead  of  Anglo-Saxons  would 
have  ruled  the  British  Isles,  and  instead  of  Angle- 
land,  or  England,  we  should  to-day  have  Daneland. 
But  that  was  not  the  end  of  the  story.  "  Many  of 
the  folk  drave  they  oversea,  and,  of  the  rest,  they 


ALFRED  IN  HIDING  127 

brought  under  the  most,  and  forced  them  to  yield  to 
their  sway,  save  only  King  Alfred.  He,  with  a 
small  bandy  gat  him  away  to  the  woods,  and  that 
hardly,  and  to  the  fastnesses  of  the  fens!' 

A  fugitive  and  in  peril  of  his  life,  Alfred  sought 
a  place  where  he  might  dwell  in  hiding  within  his 
own  realm.  For  a  time  he  wandered  with  his  men 
in  the  woods  of  Somerset,  and  then  he  came  to  a 
region  of  salt  marshes,  in  the  midst  of  which  lay  an 
island  called  Athelney,  or  Isle  of  Nobles.  "Athel- 
ney,"  says  the  chronicler,  u  was  girded  in  by  fen  on 
all  sides,  so  that  by  boat  only  could  it  be  come  at.  On 
this  islet  was  there  a  thicket  of  alders,  full  of  s^ags 
and  goats  and  other  such  creatures,  and  in  the  midst 
a  bit  of  open  ground,  scarce  two  acres.  Hither  in 
his  distress  came  Alfred  all  alone,"  and  hither  fol- 
lowed him  Ethelnot,  one  of  his  nobles,  and  a  few 
of  his  faithful  followers. 

Englishmen  have  always  looked  back  with  pride  on 
that  dark  hour  in  English  history,  when  England's 
only  hope  was  in  this  young  king,  living  a  home- 
less and  dangerous  life  on  the  tiny  island,  in  the 
midst  of  his  foes,  for  as  they  think  of  those  months 
of  suffering  and  discouragement  they  see  the  true 
greatness  of  Alfred.  When  every  one  else  was  dis- 
heartened  he  was  brave  and  strong  and  hopeful. 


128  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Many  stories  have  been  handed  down  to  us  of  the 
things  which  befell  Alfred  in  those  three  months  in 
hiding,  and  though  we  know  they  are  probably  not 
true  history  like  the  dates  and  names  of  battles,  yet 
they  give  us  a  picture  of  how  people  thought  and 
felt  and  acted  in  Alfred's  day,  and  how  he  perhaps 
may  have  thought  and  felt  and  acted.  First,  there  is 
the  story  of  the  cakes,  —  of  Alfred's  coming  to  a  hut 
one  day  and  being  recognized  by  the  master  of  the 
house,  a  goatherd,  who  did  not  tell  his  wife  who  it 
was  who  came  to  their  house  for  food  and  shelter. 
The  story  is  that  the  old  woman  left  Alfred  to  mind 
the  .cakes  on  the  hearth,  and  when  he  let  them  burn 
she  rated  him  soundly  for  his  carelessness,  and 
Alfred,  king  of  England  though  he  was,  took  his 
scolding  meekly,  ior  he  knew  he  deserved  it.  None 
can  doubt  that  many  times  in  those  sad  months 
Alfred  must  have  gone  hungry,  for  the  little  group 
of  nobles  had  nothing  to  live  on  but  what  they 
could  get  by  hunting  or  fishing,  and  very  likely  he 
came  more  than  once  to  the  home  of  some  of  his 
humble  subjects  and  was  fed  by  them,  unbeknown 
to  themselves ;  and  that  is  how  this  story  grew  up. 

Again  there  is  a  tale  of  how  Alfred  ventured 
forth,  disguised  as  a  minstrel,  with  one  trusty  serv- 
ant, and  went  to  the  Danish  camp.    That  he  was  a 


ALFRED  IN  THE  DANISH  CAMP 


I29 


130  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

very  good  minstrel  we  may  be  sure,  for  he  loved  the 
Saxon  songs  of  his  fathers  and  learned  many  of  them 
by  heart  and  had  them  written  down.  First  he  played 
to  the  soldiers  in  their  camps,  and  then  because  he 
played  and  sang  so  well  they  led  him  to  the  tent  of 
the  Danish  king,  Suthrum.  Little  did  the  blue-eyed 
Norse  barbarian  dream  that  he  should  so  soon  meet 
the  handsome  and  skillful  minstrel  in  another  and 
more  terrible  guise.  Guthrum  was  so  charmed  with 
the  music  and  the  songs  of  Alfred  that  he  desired 
him  to  stay  ;  and  the  story  is  that  Alfred  found  great 
difficulty  in  getting  away  from  the  Danish  camp,  not 
because  he  was  in  danger,  but  because  he  had  won 
such  a  place  by  the  charm  of  his  bearing  and  by  his 
talents  that  they  would  not  let  him  go.  But  the  Eng- 
lish king  had  learned  all  which  he  needed  to  know 
of  the  Danes  and  their  strength  and  position,  and 
he  returned  as  soon  as  possible  to  his  people. 

This  story  puts  Alfred's  return  to  the  war  immedi- 
ately after  his  visit  to  the  Danish  camp  ;  but  there  is 
yet  another  tale  which  is  written  in  the  books  of  the 
Church,  telling  how,  when  he  felt  himself  most  for- 
saken, Cuthbert,  one  of  the  saints  of  England,  ap- 
peared to  him  and  gave  him  cheer.  The  people  felt 
that  without  the  help  of  God  England  could  never 
have  been  saved  in  this  dark  hour,  and  they  loved  to 


ALFRED'S  VISION  131 

tell  this  tale,  which  some  say  they  heard  from  the 
lips  of  Alfred  himself,  "  how  one  night  the  king 
could  not  sleep,  but  lay  pondering  on  all  that  had 
come  to  pass.  And  presently  he  saw  a  great  light 
which  shone  upon  his  bed  brighter  than  the  beams 
of  the  sun.  In  the  midst  of  this  light  he  saw  the 
form  of  an  old  man,  who  blessed  the  king.  Then 
Alfred  said  unto  him,  '  Who  art  thou  ? ' 

"  And  he  answered :  '  Alfred,  my  son,  rejoice  ;  for 
I  am  called  Cuthbert,  the  soldier  of  God,  and  I  am 
come  to  tell  thee  what  thou  must  do  to  win  back  the 
kingdom  from  which  thou  hast  been  banished.  Now 
therefore  be  strong  and  courageous  and  of  joyful 
heart,  and  I  will  thee  what  thou  must  do.  Rise  up 
early  in  the  morning,  and  blow  thine  horn  thrice, 
that  thine  enemies  may  hear  it  and  fear.  Then  about 
the  ninth  hour  of  the  day  five  hundred  of  your  loyal 
followers  shall  come  to  your  help.  And  by  this  sign 
thou  shalt  know  that  after  seven  days  an  army  of  all 
your  folk  shall  be  gathered  unto  you.  Thus  shalt 
thou  fight  the  enemy,  and  doubt  not  that  thou  shalt 
gain  the  victory.'  " 

History  tells  us  that  Alfred  was  not  long  left  de- 
serted on  his  island.  While  he  was  waiting  there, 
making  occasional  raids  till  the  power  of  winter  was 
broken,  word  came  that  in  Devon  the  Danes  had  met 


132  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

a  terrible  defeat  and  had  lost  the  banner  of  the  Raven, 
which  they  believed  brought  them  victory  and  could 
never  be  taken.  "So  in  the  seventh  week  after 
Easter,"  reads  the  chronicle,  "rode  Alfred  to  Eg- 
bert's Stone,  and  there  met  him  all  the  whole  folk 
of  Somersetshire  and  Wiltshire  and  all  the  folk  of 
Hampshire,  such  as  had  not,  through  fear  of  the 
Heathen,  sailed  beyond  seas.  And  when  they  saw 
the  King,  they  were  filled  with  joy  untold,  and  they 
hailed  him  as  one  alive  again  from  the  dead.  So 
came  he,  the  third  day  after,  with  a  mighty  host,  to 
the  place  called  Ethandune ;  whereat,  hard  by,  he 
found  no  less  mighty  forces  of  the  Heathen,  drawn 
up  in  one  dense  mass  for  battle.  With  the  first 
bright  rays  of  the  rising  sun  did  the  King  alike  and 
all  the  flower  of  his  folk  beclothe  themselves  in  their 
war  gear.  .  .  .  All  the  long  day  did  the  two  nations 
fight ;  and  far  off  might  you  hear  the  shouting  and 
the  crash  of  arms.  Stoutly  and  long  they  kept  at  it, 
and  in  the  end  Alfred  got  the  victory. 

"  Then  the  remnant  of  the  foe  came  to  Alfred 
and  cried  ever  aloud,  for  sorrow  of  heart,  and  for 
bitter  hunger,  and  for  cold,  and  for  mighty  dread. 
Mercy  do  they  implore,  mercy,  mercy  and  peace  — 
they  who  had  ever  been  enemies  unto  peace,  of 
direst  mood.    Sureties  they  proffer  ;  trothplight  they 


GUTHRUM'S  BAPTISM  133 

would  swear.  The  King  should  name  and  take  from 
them  such  sureties  as  he  would,  giving  them  none  in 
return.  Never  before  had  they  made  a  peace  with 
any  one  after  this  sort." 

So  the  Danes  were  humbled  as  they  had  never 
been  humbled  before,  and  Alfred  in  the  kindness  of 
his  heart  showed  the  mercy  which  they  besought  of 
him.  Alfred's  wisdom  and  greatness  never  showed 
forth  more  plainly  than  in  the  famous  treaty  which 
he  made  with  the  Danes  at  this  time,  the  treaty  of 
Wedmore,  as  it  is  called,  from  the  name  of  the  place 
where  the  English  and  the  Danish  kings  met. 

Besides  the  sureties  which  had  been  given  by  the 
Danes,  it  had  been  agreed  that  Guthrum  the  Danish 
king  should  become  a  Christian  and  receive  bap- 
tism without  delay.  Seven  weeks  after  the  victory 
Guthrum  came  with  thirty  of  his  best  nobles,  and 
they  presented  themselves  to  Alfred  for  baptism, 
and  donned  with  solemn  ceremonies  the  white  robes 
which  they  must  wear  for  the  first  seven  days  of 
their  Christian  life.  Alfred  was  to  stand  as  godfather 
to  his  former  enemy  Guthrum,  giving  to  him  the 
English  name  of  Athelstan.  According  to  the  cus- 
tom King  Guthrum  wore  the  white  robe,  and  on  the 
eighth  day  it  was  taken  off  or  "  loosed  "  by  Ethelnot, 
the  noble  who  had  shared  Alfred's  exile. 


AELFREDUS 

MAGNUS 

134 


THE  PEACE  OF  WEDMORE  135 

The  Danish  leader  remained  twelve  days  with 
Alfred,  and  they  made  a  peace  which  began  after 
this  wise  :  "  This  is  the  peace  that  King  Alfred  and 
King  Guthrum,  and  the  Wise  Men  of  all  the  English 
nation,  and  all  the  people  that  are  in  East  Anglia, 
have  all  ordained  and  with  oaths  confirmed,  for  them- 
selves and  their  descendants,  as  well  for  born  as  for 
unborn."  Bounds,  it  went  on,  were  to  be  established 
between  Alfred's  territory  and  that  over  which  Guth- 
rum was  still  to  hold  sway  with  Alfred  as  his  over- 
lord, and  all  the  necessary  laws  were  made  by  which 
the  Danes  and  the  English  could  carry  on  trade  and 
community  relations.  Best  of  all,  neither  nationality 
was  to  regard  the  other  as  a  conquered  people,  but 
both  were  to  be  equal  before  the  law. 

Thus  Alfred  in  his  wisdom  recognized  that  the 
Danes  were  never  to  be  driven  wholly  from  the  island, 
but  that  the  English  must  receive  them  as  neighbors 
and  treat  with  them  in  fairness  and  justice.  And  in 
token  of  the  relation  which  should  be  maintained  by  all 
men  of  each  nationality,  he  took  Guthrum,  the  bar- 
barian king,  to  be  his  own  godson ;  and  Guthrum 
kept  his  part  of  the  peace  until  he  died,  as  did 
Alfred.  Peace  had  not  come  to  Alfred  for  all  time. 
He  was  forced  to  fight  the  Danes  again  and  again  dur- 
ing his  reign  before  a  final  peace  was  established ;  but 


136  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

in  this  treaty  comes  the  beginning  of  our  united  Eng- 
land. Soon  "all  England  turned  to  him,"  we  read, 
"  and  of  their  own  free  will  did  many  Franks,  Gauls, 
Danes,  Britons,  Scots,  and  Angles,  bow  them  to  his 
sway,  highborn  and  lowborn  alike ;  and  all  of  them, 
in  his  own  worthy  wise,  did  he  rule  and  love  and 
honor,  even  as  his  own  folk,"  for  although  the  saying 
was  "amid  arms  laws  are  still,"  yet  "amid  all  the 
clash  of  weapons  "  was  Alfred  a  lawgiver,  and  never 
ceased  in  his  tendance  on  the  helm  of  his  kingdom. 
When  you  read  of  Alfred's  greatness  in  other 
lines,  —  as  a  poet,  as  the  founder  of  a  navy,  and  as 
a  king,  —  remember  this  story  of  his  dealings  with 
the  Danes,  and  think  of  him  as  England's  defender, 
the  first  man  to  be  king  of  a  united  England,  and 
the  wise  ruler  who  was  great  enough  to  make  the 
barbarian  invaders  his  neighbors  and  allies  instead 
of  his  foes. 


ROLLO  THE  VIKING 

ROLLO,  or  Rolf  the  Walker  his  companions 
.  called  him,  for  he  was  so  large  and  tall  that 
he  could  not  ride  on  the  little  Norwegian  ponies 
which  scrambled  up  and  down  the  steep  mountain 
paths,  but  always  walked  wherever  he  wished  to  go. 
He  was  a  splendid  Norse  hero,  such  as  the  poets 
loved  to  describe  in  their  sagas,  tall,  broad-shouldered, 
with  yellow  hair,  and  "  fiercely  blue  "  eyes,  which 
could  command  the  roughest  sea  robber  and  bring 
him  to  his  will.  And  he  was  a  typical  Northman, 
too,  in  his  restlessness  and  love  of  adventure.  His 
father  was  Jarl  Roegnwald,  a  chieftain  highly  hon- 
ored by  the  king  of  Norway,  but  the  narrow  limits  of 
the  group  of  islands  over  which  his  father  ruled 
were  too  close  for  him,  even  as  his  father's  horses 
were  too  small.  The  wild  blood  ran  too  swiftly  in 
his  young  veins  for  him  to  be  content  at  home ;  and 
after  the  fashion  of  young  Norse  nobles  he  built  him 
a  ship,  and  gathering  a  company  of  men,  betook  him- 
self to  the  wide  sea  where  he  might  wander  wher- 
ever he  pleased.  There  was  no  harm  in  that,  for  the 
calling  of  sea  rover,  which  meant  as  well  sea  robber, 

137 


138  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

was  an  honorable  one  among  the  Northmen  ;  but  the 
king  of  Norway,  Harald  Haarfager,  had  made  a  law 
that  while  the  sea-roving  nobles  of  his  realm  might 
plunder  every  other  land,  and  might  rob  any  other 
peoples,  they  should  never  exercise  their  right  of 
Strandhug  or  appropriation  on  their  fellow  country- 
men. So  when  Rollo,  voyaging  home  from  a  long 
cruise  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  where  he  had  been  very  short 
of  food,  landed  on  the  island  of  Vigen  and  plundered 
a  Norwegian  village,  Harald,  who  happened  to  be  stay- 
ing near  by,  was  very  angry,  and  caused  a  court  of 
justice  to  be  assembled  to  banish  Rollo  from  Norway. 
Hilldur,  the  mother  of  Rollo,  went  as  soon  as  she 
heard  this  to  the  king  to  intercede  for  her  son,  but 
Harald  was  inflexible.  Though  Rollo  was  indeed  the 
son  of  his  most  trusted  chieftain  and  dearest  friend, 
and  though  there  were  none  that  the  king  held  in 
greater  esteem  than  Jarl  Roegnwald  and  the  lady 
Hilldur,  nevertheless  his  son  must  be  punished  for 
his  lawlessness.  Finding  her  prayers  ineffectual,  Hill- 
dur departed  from  the  king,  chanting  mournfully  as 
she  went  the  song  written  about  another  Norse  hero  : 

You  then  expel  my  dearest  son  (named  after  my  father !) 

The  lion  whom  you  exile, 

Is  the  bold  progeny  of  a  noble  race. 

Why,  O  King,  are  you  thus  violent? 


THE  VISION  OF  ROLLO  139 

But  the  king  could  not  be  moved  from  his  pur- 
pose, and  Rollo  sailed  away  from  Norway,  an  outlaw, 
in  the  boat  which  was  become  his  only  home. 

We  hear  of  Rollo  presently  in  the  Hebrides,  off 
the  coast  of  Scotland,  where  a  company  of  Northmen 
had  settled  who  became  his  willing  allies,  and  again 
we  read  in  the  chronicles  of  England  how  in  the 
early  years  of  Alfred's  reign  "  Rollo  and  his  gang  " 
landed  in  Britain,  M  and  started  to  harry  the  land." 
Then  in  one  of  the  intervals  of  rest  from  Danish 
attack  comes  the  welcome  entry,  "  In  this  year 
Rollo  and  his  mates  made  their  way  over  into  Nor- 
mandy." Alfred  had  made  peace  with  them,  and 
Rollo,  ever  restless  and  longing  for  adventure,  had 
led  his  men  over  into  France. 

History  tells  us  that  Rollo  left  England  because 
Alfred  had  defeated  him  in  battle,  but  legend  has 
another  tale  of  his  going,  which  I  have  copied  from 
an  old,  old  book,  where  it  is  headed  M  The  Vision 
of  Rollo." 

"At  night,  as  Rollo  slept,  there  seemed  that  a 
swarm  of  bees  flew  quickly  over  him  and  his  host, 
and  hummed  off  southward,  and  flew  over  the  mid- 
sea,  and  so  came  to  land.  And  there  drew  they 
together,  and  settled  on  the  leaves  of  divers  trees, 
and  in  short  time,  filled  they  all  that  land,  and  began 


140  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

to  bring  together  unto  one  place  flowrets  of  many  a 
hue.  Here  woke  Rollo,  and  thought  on  that  dream, 
and  the  interpretation  thereof.  And  when  he  had 
diligently  considered  the  thing,  he  guessed  that  he 
might  find  rest  from  his  toil  in  those  parts  where  the 
bees  had  settled.  So  crossed  he  the  sea,  and  put  to 
shore  in  Normandy." 

11  Rest  from  his  toil "  would  have  seemed  to  the 
terrified  Franks  the  last  thing  which  Rollo  or  any 
of  his  Viking  band  wanted.  The  Charles  who  ruled 
that  portion  of  the  empire  of  Charlemagne  —  whose 
great  union  of  the  countries  of  Europe  had  fallen  to 
pieces  in  the  hands  of  his  weaker  sons  —  was  called 
by  his  subjects  Charles  the  Simple  or  Charles  the 
Fool,  by  which  we  may  guess  that  he  was  not  wise 
or  strong  enough  to  manage  his  own  people,  much 
less  to  drive  out  a  great  company  of  Northmen  such 
as  came  in  the  mighty  fleet  of  Rollo  and  his  allies. 
He  was  far  away  inland  when  the  Northmen,  or 
Norsemen,  as  the  name  came  to  be  pronounced, 
came  up  the  Seine  and  made  their  camp  at  a  town 
five  leagues  from  Rouen,  and  the  terrified  people  did 
not  know  to  whom  to  turn.  But  a  bold  archbishop, 
by  the  name  of  Francon,  taking  his  life  in  his  hands, 
went  over  into  the  Norsemen's  camp,  and  came  be- 
fore the  terrible  Rollo,  of  whose  wild  exploits  he  had 


"REST  FROM  HIS  TOIL"  141 

heard  for  twenty-five  years,  and  proposed  that  he  and 
the  barbarian  leader  make  a  treaty  concerning  the 
safety  of  the  city  of  Rouen. 

It  took  a  brave  man  to  enter  the  barbarian  camp 
with  such  a  proposition,  the  more  as  Francon  knew 
that  the  emperor  Charles  was  far  away  and  the  walls 
of  Rouen  were  so  broken  down  by  the  previous 
Norse  invasions  that  the  city  was  hardly  defensible. 
But  Rollo  was  a  leader  who  admired  a  brave  man, 
whether  friend  or  foe,  though  the  archbishop  could 
not  know  that.  Moreover  we  begin  to  see  here  for 
the  first  time  in  Rollo' s  life  that  perhaps  he  was 
more  than  a  splendid  barbarian.  Perhaps  after  all  the 
Norse  sea  king,  now  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  a  rover, 
did  desire  "  rest  from  his  toil "  and  a  home  where 
he  might  dwell  with  his  people.  At  all  events  he 
made  a  treaty  with  the  archbishop  of  Rouen  that  if 
his  people  might  have  possession  of  the  city  and 
might  occupy  it  without  opposition  from  the  inhabit- 
ants, they  would  neither  plunder  nor  kill  nor  harm 
in  any  fashion  the  city  or  its  people. 

The  citizens  of  Rouen  did  not  know  what  to  make 
of  this  message  which  the  archbishop  brought  back. 
They  did  not  have  much  faith  in  the  promise,  but 
they  were  helpless,  so  it  mattered  little  what  they  did. 
It  was  with  many  misgivings  that  they  threw  open 


142  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

their  gates  and  gave  over  their  keys,  but  the  barbari- 
ans kept  their  word,  and  no  man  of  Rouen  suffered 
from  their  entry  into  the  city. 

Outside  the  gates  of  Rouen  the  Norsemen  built  a 
huge  camp,  and  hither  came  Charles  with  all  the 
Franks  he  could  muster  to  fight  them.  To  tell  the 
tale  of  the  battles  between  the  Franks  and  the  Norse- 
men were  a  weary  matter.  Other  Vikings  came  and 
joined  Rollo,  and  other  leaders  became  his  allies. 
One  of  these  was  Siegfried,  who  came  so  near  to 
taking  Paris  in  the  famous  thirteen  months'  siege  of 
the  year  885,  but  was  at  last  driven  back  by  the 
noble  count  Odo  in  command  of  the  Franks.  Mean- 
while Rollo,  who  could  never  be  content  to  have 
taken  one  city,  led  his  men  here  and  there  in  the 
western  part  of  France,  taking  one  city  after  another, 
and  behold !  the  conquered  people  found  that  this 
terrible  Rollo  of  whom  they  had  heard  such  tales 
was  not  the  barbarian  of  their  fancy,  but  a  strong 
ruler,  who  in  spite  of  his  rude  ways  treated  them 
fairly  and  was  better  able  to  preserve  order  in  the 
land  than  their  absent  emperor,  whose  overlordship 
had  not  kept  the  Frankish  nobles  from  constant 
strife  among  themselves. 

Year  by  year  the  Norsemen  gained  more  power, 
until,  some  eight  or  ten  years  later,  Rollo  made  plans 


THE  NORSEMEN  IN  FRANCE  143 

for  an  extensive  conquest  of  the  kingdom.  ,  All  the 
Norsemen  in  France  were  to  unite  and  move  in 
three  great  armies  up  the  three  rivers  of  France, 
the  Seine,  the  Loire,  and  the  Garonne,  ravaging 
and  taking  possession  as  they  went. 

Charles  the  Simple  was  filled  with  panic  at  this 
plan  of  invasion.  He  had  met  Rollo  before,  and  he 
remembered  well  the  answer  which  Rollo  had  given 
one  of  his  messengers  who  asked  the  Norse  chieftain, 
l<  For  what  end  have  you  come  to  France  ?  " 

"  To  drive  out  the  people  who  are  here,  or  make 
them  our  subjects,  and  to  gain  for  ourselves  a  new 
country,"  Rollo  had  answered. 

"  Will  you  submit  to  King  Charles  ?  "  the  ambas- 
sador had  asked. 

"  No.  We  yield  to  none,"  had  been  the  proud 
reply.  "All  that  we  take  by  our  strength  and  our 
arms  we  will  keep  as  our  right." 

Charles  had  not  forgotten  that  defiant  message 
which  had  come  to  him  soon  after  Rollo' s  first 
coming  to  France.  Now  he  wrote  to  Archbishop 
Francon,  who  had  dealt  with  Rollo  at  Rouen,  entreat- 
ing him  to  solicit  from  Rollo,  in  whose  province  at 
Rouen  he  still  dwelt,  a  truce  of  three  months. 

"My  kingdom  is  laid  waste,"  wrote  the  alarmed 
monarch,  "  my  subjects  are  destroyed  or  driven  into 


144  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

exile ;  the  fields  are  no  longer  plowed  or  sown. 
Tell  the  Northman  that  I  am  well  disposed  to  make 
a  lasting  peace  with  him,  and  that  if  he  will  become 
a  Christian,  I  will  give  him  broad  lands  and  rich 
presents." 

Rollo  consented  readily  to  this  proposal,  and  the 
truce  was  strictly  observed  by  both  sides ;  but  at  the 
end  of  the  three  months  the  Franks  resumed  hos- 
tilities without  notifying  the  Northman  that  they  con- 
sidered the  truce  to  be  at  an  end.  This  Rollo  re- 
garded as  an  act  of  bad  faith,  to  which  he  promptly 
responded  by  renewing  his  invasions  with  even  greater 
violence.  The  fair  valleys  of  France  were  for  many 
months  the  scene  of  bloodshed  and  slaughter,  and 
the  people  of  the  land  despaired  of  ever  seeing  pros- 
perity again,  even  as  the  people  of  England  had  lost 
heart  before  the  coming  of  Alfred.  A  great  council 
or  parliament  of  barons  and  nobles  and  bishops  came 
together  to  entreat  Charles  the  Simple  to  take  pity 
upon  the  land. 

"  Look  upon  the  sufferings  of  your  people,"  they 
said  to  him.  "  Their  life  is  become  altogether 
wretched.  The  land  is  desolated  and  brings  forth 
no  more  crops,  for  of  what  use  is  it  to  sow  seed 
when  bands  of  Norsemen  will  shortly  trample  down 
the  growing  harvest,  or  if  perchance  the  wheat  should 


THE  OFFER  OF  THE  KING  145 

come  to  its  growth,  they  will  reap  it  before  the  very 
eyes  of  the  starving  people.  The  vineyards  have 
been  laid  waste,  the  vines  broken  down,  the  peas- 
antry wander  hither  and  thither  through  the  land  in 
search  of  food,  and  because  of  the  unsettled  state  of 
the  country  the  highways  are  infested  with  robbers 
and  murderers,  and  neither  pilgrim  nor  merchant 
dares  to  travel  on  the  highways." 

They  did  not  tell  him  so  in  words,  but  Charles 
could  not  help  seeing  that  the  people  blamed  him 
for  the  state  of  affairs,  and  said  among  themselves, 
"  All  this  comes  because  we  have  a  weak  king,  who 
will  neither  meet  the  enemy  in  battle  nor  make  nor 
keep  a  wise  peace  with  him,  but  leaves  us  at  his 
mercy."  What  they  needed  was  a  king  like  Alfred 
who  had  delivered  England  from  just  such  a  state 
of  misery. 

Either  King  Charles  was  wiser  than  he  had 
seemed,  or  else  he  had  farseeing  counselors  whose 
suggestions  he  followed,  for  he  roused  himself  and 
did  the  wisest  thing  which  could  have  been  done. 
He  sent  Archbishop  Francon  to  Rollo,  offering  him 
the  province  of  Neustria  and  the  hand  of  his  daugh- 
ter, the  beautiful  young  Gisela,  in  marriage,  provided 
he  would  become  a  Christian  and  live  in  peace  with 
the  Franks.    The  nobles  had  by  this  time  come  to 


146  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

see  that  in  Rollo  they  had  a  chieftain  of  very  different 
temper  from  the  wild  sea  robbers  who  came  into  the 
land  for  naught  but  treasure  and  slaughter.  Perhaps 
Rainier,  the  count  of  Hainaut,  had  the  ear  of  the 
king,  and  told  him  how  he  had  been  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Norseman,  and  how  his  wife  Alberade,  the 
countess  Brabant,  had  gone  to  Rollo,  requesting  her 
husband's  release  and  offering  to  set  free  twelve 
captains  of  the  Vikings,  who  had  been  taken  by  her 
men  in  the  battle,  in  exchange  for  Count  Rainier, 
and  to  give  up  as  well  all  the  gold  which  she  pos- 
sessed. She  would  have  counted  herself  fortunate  to 
save  her  husband,  even  though  it  left  them  impover- 
ished and  destitute,  but  Rollo  had  restored  to  the 
countess  not  only  her  husband  but  half  the  gold 
which  she  offered.  At  all  events  the  king  made 
known  to  Rollo  his  willingness  to  give  him  a  province 
of  his  realm,  and  Rollo  accepted  the  offer,  objecting 
only  to  the  lands  offered  to  him,  which  he  considered 
too  much  devastated  by  war. 

At  the  little  village  of  Saint-Clair  King  Charles  and 
Rollo  met,  even  as  Alfred  and  Guthrum  had  met  in 
England.  The  Franks  pitched  their  tents  on  one  side 
of  the  river,  and  the  Norsemen  on  the  other.  After 
much  bargaining  it  was  settled  that  Rollo  should  have 
a  great  province,  of  which  Rouen  was  the  center,  in  the 


THE  OATH  OF  ALLEGIANCE  147 

north  of  France,  and  he  came  across  the  river  where 
the  counts  and  bishops  and  nobles  and  lords  were 
assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony  of  receiving  the 
Norseman  into  the  kingdom. 

Rollo  had  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  Charles 
as  his  overlord,  making  himself  one  of  the  emperor's 
crown  vassals,  and  this  he  consented  to  do,  putting 
his  hands  between  the  king's  hands  in  token  of 
homage  for  the  province  and  saying,  "  From  this 
time  forward  I  am  your  vassal,  and  I  give  my  oath 
that  I  will  faithfully  protect  your  life,  your  limbs, 
and  your  royal  honor." 

Then  the  king  and  all  the  nobles  and  abbots  and 
dukes,  and  the  great  crown  vassals,  repeated  a  like 
oath,  confirming  the  cession  of  land  made  to  Rollo. 
They  swore  that  they  would  protect  Rollo  in  his  life, 
his  limbs,  and  his  folk,  and  his  honor ;  and  would 
guarantee  to  him  the  possession  of  the  land,  to 
him  and  his  descendants  forever.  After  this  Rollo 
was  declared  the  duke  of  his  province,  and  the  wan- 
dering outlaw  of  Norway  was  a  rightful  landholder 
once  more. 

There  is  an  old  story,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
true,  that  when  the  terms  had  all  been  agreed 
upon,  the  Frankish  nobles  told  Rollo  that  for  so  great 
a  gift  as  this  he  was  bound  to  kiss  the  king's  foot. 


148  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

M  Never,"  quoth  Rollo,  "will  I  bend  the  knee  to 
any,  and  I  will  kiss  the  feet  of  none." 

When  the  Franks  pressed  the  point,  he  ordered 
one  of  his  followers  to  come  forward  and  take  his 
place.  The  man  stepped  forward.  No  Norseman 
would  dispute  a  command  from  Rollo.  But  he  did 
not  relish  the  duty,  and  he  did  not  intend  to  bend 
the  knee  any  more  than  his  master.  Instead,  there- 
fore, of  stooping  before  the  king,  he  took  the  king's 
foot  in  his  hand  and  raised  it  to  his  mouth,  lifting 
it  so  high  that  the  poor  old  monarch  fell  over  back- 
ward, amid  shouts  of  laughter  from  the  throng. 
The  barbarian  was  not  all  gone  from  the  North- 
man yet. 

At  Rouen  Rollo  received  baptism  from  the  hands 
of  his  Prankish  associate  and  neighbor,  Archbishop 
Francon,  and  wore,  as  King  Guthrum  had  done  in 
England,  the  white  robe  of  the  Church  for  seven 
days.  It  must  have  been  a  strange  sight  to  see  the 
old  Norse  sea  king  stalking  about  in  the  long  white 
garment.  Rich  presents  were  given  on  both  sides, 
and  many  of  his  followers  were  baptized  at  the  same 
time.  Those  who  refused  to  come  into  the  new 
settlement  received  presents  of  arms,  money,  and 
horses,  and  went  whither  they  would,  beyond  the 
seas,  to  return  to  their  native  land  or  to  pursue  their 


THE  GOLD  BRACELETS  149 

life  of  adventure.  Then  Rollo  was  married  by  Chris- 
tian ceremonies  to  the  lady  Gisela,  and  went  to  his 
province,  which  soon  came  to  be  known  as  the  duchy 
of  Normandy,  while  the  men  who  dwelt  there  and 
their  descendants  were  known  as  Normans,  which 
was  easier  to  say  than  Northman  or  Norseman. 

Normandy  was  in  a  sad  state  when  Rollo  became 
duke ;  but  he  ruled  wisely  and  well,  so  ordering  the 
affairs  of  his  duchy  that  he  was  honored  of  all  men. 
The  laws  which  he  gave  out  were  fair,  and  he  was 
careful  to  have  them  justly  administered.  The  farm- 
ers and  tillers  of  the  land  he  protected  with  great 
diligence,  and  the  land  became  rich  and  prosperous. 
Robbers  and  murderers  were  dealt  with  so  severely 
that  they  ceased  to  frequent  that  duchy.  The  pretty 
story  is  told  of  the  safety  of  the  kingdom  which  is 
told  of  the  realms  of  Alfred  and  other  wise  kings 
also,  and  which  shows  how  happy  and  serene  the 
people  were  under  their  ruler. 

When  Duke  Rollo  was  hunting  one  day,  he  and 
his  company  came  to  a  fair  glade,  where  they  sat 
down  to  rest  and  refresh  themselves.  As  they 
feasted  together  Rollo  said  that  he  would  prove  the 
honesty  of  his  people  and  the  security  of  his  duchy. 
So  he  took  off  two  gold  bracelets  and  hung  them  on 
a  tree  close  by ;  and  though  the  tree  was  beside  the 


150  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

highway,  yet  when  the  duke  went  many  weeks  later 
to  seek  them,  they  hung  there  still. 

It  is  a  beautiful  page  of  history,  —  this  tale  of  the 
Northman  become  Norman,  —  and  it  does  not  end 
with  Rollo  and  his  men.  They  could  not  wholly  throw 
off  the" effects  of  their  wild  lives  of  conquest  and  strife. 
But  their  descendants,  keeping  the  strength  and 
vigor  of  their  Viking  ancestors,  took  on  the  culture 
of  the  Franks,  forming  a  race  which  became  the 
conquerors  and  leaders  of  Europe,  the  foremost 
champions  of  her  religion  and  her  civilization  and 
her  arts.  It  was  Rollo's  descendant,  known  in  his- 
tory as  William  the  Conqueror,  who  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  later  conquered  England,  and  intro- 
duced there  Norman  customs  and  language  and 
literature.  Feudalism  and  chivalry,  the  two  great 
institutions  of  the  Middle  Ages,  come  to  us  in 
Norman  guise. 

Rollo  died  an  old,  old  man,  and  was  buried  in  the 
church  of  Rouen ;  and  with  him  ends  the  last  great 
barbarian  invasion  from  the  North.  The  North,  the 
"  forge  of  mankind,"  as  an  old  Roman  writer  had 
called  it,  had  sent  one  Teutonic  people  after  another 
down  on  the  gentler  Southland,  and  with  the  min- 
gling of  the  t  races  the  tale  of  the  wandering  of  the 
nations  in  Europe  is  complete. 


SAINT  WINFRED 

THERE  were  all  kinds  of  people  in  the  early 
Middle  Ages,  and  the  ones  of  whom  we  hear 
the  most  are  the  warriors  and  kings  and  emperors 
and  scholars.  But  there  was  another  group  of  men 
without  whom  Roman  and  barbarian  Europe  would 
never  have  been  transformed  into  Christendom. 
They  were  the  preachers  and  teachers  and  mission- 
aries of  the  Christian  Church,  whom  the  people  of 
the  Middle  Ages  called  saints.  They  did  not  speak 
of  themselves  that  way ;  no  real  saint  ever  thought 
himself  such.  But  they  lived  to  serve  the  Church 
and  to  fight  heathendom  and  wickedness,  and  when 
they  were  gone  the  people  who  had  known  them 
best,  recalling  the  beauty  of  their  lives  and  the  re- 
markable amount  of  good  they  had  done,  would 
say,  "He  was  a  saint " ;  and  sometimes,  if  his  place 
in  the  world  had  been  very  important,  the  Church 
would  write  his  name  in  its  catalogue  of  saints. 

Such  a  one  was  Winfred  of  England,  who  was  the 
great  apostle  to  the  Germans ;  though  if  you  looked 
for  his  name  in  the  annals  of  the  Church,  you  would 

151 


152  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

be  more  likely  to  find  him  described  as  Saint  Boniface 
than  Saint  Winfred,  for  Boniface  was  his  church 
name.  But  Winfred  was  his  boyhood  name  and  his 
Anglo-Saxon  name,  by  which  we  like  to  call  him,  for 
it  reminds  us  that  he  was  of  our  own  blood. 

In  Winfred's  time  parents  chose  for  their  boys, 
while  they  were  yet  children,  whether  they  should  be 
soldiers  or  landholders  or  churchmen  and  scholars. 
When  Winfred  was  seven  years  old  his  father  and 
mother  decided  that  because  he  was  so  bright  and 
quick,  and  so  thoughtful  too,  he  must  be  given  to  the 
Church.  So  little  Winfred  went  to  live  in  an  Anglo- 
Saxon  monastery,  —  just  such  a  one  as  Alcuin  left 
a  century  later  to  go  over  and  teach  Charlemagne's 
School  of  the  Palace,  for  we  have  turned  back  in  our 
history  to  a  time  before  the  days  of  Charlemagne  or 
Alfred,  to  the  year  680,  when  this  *  'Apostle  to  the 
Germans  "  was  born. 

In  the  monastery  Winfred  learned  many  wonder- 
ful things.  He  found  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  had 
not  always  been  Christians,  nor  had  they  always 
dwelt  in  England.  His  own  forefathers  had  come 
over  in  wooden  boats  from  Friesland,  which  was  in 
the  northern  part  of  Europe,  and  they  had  been 
heathen  barbarians.  It  was  not  two  hundred  years 
since  they  landed,  and  it  was  just  ninety  years  since 


ANGLES  OR  ANGELS? 


153 


St.  Augustine  had  sailed  over  from  Europe  to  bring 
Christianity  to  Britain. 

Two  stories  Winfred  liked  best  of  all  those  which 
the  monks  told  him,  and  they  were  the  two  which 
were  to  decide  his  afterlife.  The  first  was  of  some 
British  boys  with  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes  like  his  own, 
who  had  been  stolen  away  by  pirates  and  taken  to 
Rome,  where  all  were  of  southern  birth  and  had  dark 
eyes  and  black  hair.  They  were  offered  for  sale  in  the 
slave  market,  and  as  they  stood  there,  Pope  Gregory, 
the  head  of  the  Christian  Church,  who  happened 
to  be  passing  by  had  seen  them  and  was  struck 
by  their  appearance.  "Who  are  they?"  he  had 
asked.  "  They  are  called  Angles,"  their  master  re- 
plied. "  Angels  should  they  be  called  rather,  for 
the  fairness  of  their  faces,  if  only  their  hearts  were 
made  pure  by  the  true  faith,"  the  Pope  had  replied ; 
and  from  the  desire  that  came  into  his  heart  at  the 
sight  of  these  fair  northern  lads  resulted  Augustine's 
journey  and  the  conversion  of  Britain  to  Chris- 
tianity. 

When  this  tale  was  finished  Winfred  would  beg 
for  his  other  favorite,  the  story  of  his  Saxon  fore- 
fathers :  how  they  had  been  called  by  the  Britons  to 
come  over  and  help  to  defeat  the  Picts  and  Scots ; 
how  they  had  left  their  wild  country  of  Friesland, 


154  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

where  they  worshiped  strange  gods  who  dwelt  in 
trees  and  rocks,  and  whom  they  thought  to  appease 
by  offering  sacrifices  and  wearing  charms  and  repeat- 
ing weird  songs  and  spells  ;  and  how  they  had  come 
over  as  warriors  and  remained  to  dwell  in  the  land  of 
Britain,  and  had  been  delivered  from  the  religion  of 
fear  and  cruelty. 

"  You  should  thank  God  daily,  Winfred,  that  you 
are  delivered  from  such  heathendom,"  the  old  father 
would  end  his  tale. 

"  Are  the  people  who  stayed  in  Friesland  heathens 
now  ?  "  Winfred  asked  once. 

"  Alas,  yes,  my  son.  Though  our  good  brother 
Benedict  labors  among  them,  they  are  still,  he  writes 
me,  held  in  the  bondage  of  fear." 

Winfred  made  no  reply,  but  at  that  hour  he  made 
up  his  mind  that  when  he  was  a  man  he  would  go  to 
preach  Christianity  to  these  barbarians  of  his  own 
race  and  blood. 

Places  of  high  honor  in  the  churches  and  schools 
were  open  to  Winfred  when  he  came  to  manhood, 
but  he  set  his  face  steadfastly  toward  Friesland  and 
the  work  of  his  boyhood  purpose.  But  it  was  not  to 
be  as  he  had  planned.  As  the  eager  young  monk 
was  entering  the  wild  region  of  the  Frisians,  he  was 
met  by  missionaries  of  his  own  faith,  who  were  being 


WINFRED  AT  THOR'S  OAK 


«55 


156  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

forced  by  the  heathen  to  depart  with  all  their  goods. 
The  Frisians  were  at  war,  and  no  foreigner  was 
allowed  to  remain  within  their  borders. 

It  was  not  Winf red's  way  to  turn  back  or  remain 
idle.  Seeing  that  his  chosen  work  must  be  delayed 
for  a  time,  he  turned  southward  into  Germany,  and 
there  he  found  German  Saxons  who  were  even  as 
the  Frisian  forefathers  of  his  boyhood  tales.  Every 
tree  and  stone,  every  hill  and  valley,  were  to  them 
the  dwelling  places  of  angry  spirits  to  whom  sacrifice 
must  be  offered  lest  they  sally  forth  and  punish  them. 
Goats  and  sheep  and  even  human  beings  must  be 
offered  to  appease  these  gods,  and  many  signs  and 
charms  must  be  constantly  practiced.  It  was  a  cruel 
religion,  and  the  people  listened  with  longing  to 
Winfred's  words  about  a  kind  and  loving  God  who 
ruled  the  world.  Sometimes  they  were  almost  per- 
suaded to  believe,  but  when  night  fell  and  the  wind 
whistled  in  the  forests  and  the  rain  and  thunder 
came,  they  would  slip  away  to  the  heathen  altars  and 
pray  to  the  gods  for  forgiveness.  "  Your  God  is  very 
beautiful  and  kindly,"  they  would  say  to  Winf  red, 
"but  he  is  not  so  strong  as  Woden  or  Trior." 

Then  Winf  red  saw  that  preaching  was  not  enough. 
He  let  it  be  known  that  on  a  certain  day  he  intended 
to  cut  down  the  Great  Oak,  the  sacred  tree  of  Thor, 


"THE  APOSTLE  TO  THE  GERMANS"    157 

where  the  people  had  worshiped  and  sacrificed  for 
generations,  and  which  they  feared  almost  as  if  it 
were  the  god  Thor  himself.  An  angry  crowd  was 
gathered  about  the  sacred  grove  when  Winfred  ap- 
peared with  his  ax,  but  he  walked  calmly  through 
their  midst.  The  people  expected  to  see  him  fall 
dead  the  moment  he  stepped  within  the  holy  circle, 
which  no  heathen  priest  dared  enter.  But  they 
looked  again,  and  there  he  stood,  calmly  hacking 
away  at  the  holy  oak.  Then  a  thunderstorm  arose, 
and  the  Saxons  trembled  with  fear,  thinking  that 
their  gods  were  speaking  out  their  wrath  in  the 
crashes  and  reverberations  of  the  thunder.  But  mar- 
vel of  marvels !  the  lightning  struck  not  Winfred, 
the  impious  blasphemer,  but  the  oak  itself.  With 
one  flash  it  completed  Winfred's  work,  splitting  the 
great  tree  into  three  fragments  and  bearing  it  to 
earth.  Then  the  people  shouted  with  one  accord 
that  Winfred 's  God  was  stronger  than  their  gods, 
and  that  they  would  serve  him  henceforth. 

Winfred  made  an  oath  which  every  one  must  take 
before  he  could  become  a  Christian,  which  would 
show  truly  that  he  had  put  away  the  old  religion  of 
fear  and  superstition.  This  is  the  way  it  read  :  "I 
forsake  the  devil  and  all  his  family  and  all  his  works 
and  words,  Thor  and  Woden  and  Saxnote,  and  all 


158  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

those  who  are  his  companions."  No  little  imp  of  dark- 
ness could  slip  in  to  trouble  the  believer  after  that ! 

Thirty  years  Winfred  labored  in  Germany,  and 
when  he  was  an  old  man  he  could  look  out  on  a 
broad  land  dotted  with  Christian  churches  and  schools 
and  monasteries  which  he  and  his  helpers  had  founded. 
But  his  heart  was  not  satisfied.  Far  to  the  north  lay 
the  heathen  land  of  Friesland  where  the  gospel  was 
not  yet  known.  "At  last,"  he  said,  "the  time  has 
come  when  I  may  leave  this  work  and  go  to  Fries- 
land."  With  a  few  faithful  followers  he  went  away, 
when  he  was  seventy  years  old,  into  this  wild,  bar- 
barian land,  and  there  he  labored  for  five  years,  and 
many  thousands  believed  and  praised  God  that  he 
had  come.  When  the  number  of  believers  was  so 
great  that  churches  must  be  formed,  he  summoned 
them  to  come  together  on  a  June  day  in  755  and  be 
received  into  the  Christian  Church.  But  as  he  and 
his  followers  were  preparing  for  the  service  a  great 
number  of  armed  heathen  appeared,  and  of  all  Win- 
fred's  company  of  fifty-two  not  one  escaped  death 
at  the  hands  of  these  savage  barbarians.  So  Winfred 
died  in  Friesland,  giving  his  life  when  he  was  an  old 
man  to  carry  out  the  dream  of  his  boyhood. 


RICHARD  THE  CRUSADER 

THE  story  of  the  struggle  between  races  and 
peoples  in  the  early  Middle  Ages  is  almost 
finished.  Only  one  chapter  remains,  and  if  we  look 
back  over  the  stories,  we  get  here  and  there  a  hint  of 
what  this  last  contest  is  to  be.  There  have  been  two 
kinds  of  conflict  in  these  centuries,  —  the  strife  be- 
tween North  and  South,  and  the  strife  between  East 
and  West.  The  North  and  South  have  come  together 
and  fought  their  battles,  and  then  settled  down  to 
live  side  by  side  in  the  provinces  of  Europe,  until  at 
last  there  is  no  North  nor  South,  but  a  united  Chris- 
tendom. But  the  East  and  West  have  met  and  fought 
and  separated.  The  Huns  came  over  from  Asia  and 
tried  to  conquer  Europe  but  failed  ;  the  Moslem 
peoples  came  in  by  way  of  Spain  but  were  driven  back. 
Whenever  armies  from  the  East  entered  Europe  all 
the  western  peoples  united  against  them ;  for  they 
came  to  see  that  the  differences  between  themselves 
were  slight,  while  between  them  and  the  men  from 
the  East  there  lay  a  great  gulf  of  manner  and  speech 
and  thought  and  religion,  —  a  gulf  so  wide  that 
there  could  be  no  union. 

i59 


160  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

Thus  far  in  our  story  the  East  has  come  over  each 
time  and  invaded  the  West.  Now  in  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries  Christendom  sends  her  armies 
into  the  East  in  an  attempt  to  win  back  from  the 
Moslems  Palestine,  the  Holy  Land  of  the  Christian 
faith ;  and  it  is  with  one  picture  from  this  long 
period  of  the  Crusades  that  our  story  will  close. 

Richard  of  England  took  part  in  the  third  of  these 
Crusades.  There  was  never  a  king  who  loved  war- 
fare and  adventure  more  than  this  tall  Englishman, 
"with  hair  halfway  between  red  and  yellow,"  "with 
arms  somewhat  long,  and,  for  this  very  reason,  better 
fitted  than  those  of  most  folk  to  draw  or  wield  the 
sword,"  and  "  with  long  legs,  matching  the  character 
of  his  whole  frame."  It  is  no  mere  chance  that 
in  the  ten  years  during  which  he  was  king  of  the 
English  people  he  spent  barely  six  months  on  the 
island  which  he  ruled.  The  blood  of  Viking  wander- 
ers and  Saxon  warriors  flowed  swift  in  his  veins  and 
drove  him  forth  from  the  narrow  limits  of  his  realm. 

Just  before  Richard  was  made  king  the  news 
came  to  Christendom  that  Jerusalem,  which  had 
been  ruled  by  Christian  kings  since  the  days  of  the 
First  Crusade,  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  new 
and  powerful  Moslem  prince  named  Saladin.  On  the 
day  of  his  coronation  Richard  made  preparations  to 


RICHARD  COEUR  DE  LION 


161 


1 62  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

set  out  as  soon  as  possible  with  his  brother  in  arms, 
Philip,  the  king  of  France,  to  rescue  the  Holy  City. 

Philip  and  his  army  went  round  to  Asia  by  the 
land  route,  across  Europe  and  down  through  the 
provinces  which  form  modern  Turkey,  while  Richard 
and  his  fleet  embarked  from  Spain  and  Italy  and 
sailed  the  whole  length  of  the  Mediterranean.  Here 
is  the  picture  an  Arabic  writer  drew  of  the  coming 
of  Richard  and  his  huge  fleet  to  one  of  the  ports  of 
Sicily.  "  As  soon  as  the  people  heard  of  his  arrival, 
they  rushed  in  crowds  to  the  shore  to  behold  the 
glorious  king  of  England,  and  at  a  distance  saw 
the  sea  covered  with  innumerable  galleys  :  and  the 
sounds  of  trumpets  from  afar,  with  the  sharper  and 
shriller  blasts  of  clarions,  resounded  in  their  ears  : 
and  they  beheld  the  galleys  rowing  in  order  nearer 
to  the  land,  adorned  and  furnished  with  all  manner 
of  arms,  countless  pennons  floating  in  the  wind,  en- 
signs at  the  end  of  the  lances,  the  beaks  of  the  gal- 
leys distinguished  by  various  paintings,  and  glittering 
shields  suspended  to  the  prows.  The  sea  appeared 
to  boil  with  the  multitude  of  the  rowers  ;  the  clangor 
of  the  trumpets  was  deafening." 

Philip  had  already  reached  Palestine  and  was  besieg- 
ing Acre,  the  strongest  Moslem  fortress.  As  Rich- 
ard and  his   fleet  were  preparing  to  leave   Sicily, 


THE  ARRIVAL  IN  THE  HOLY  LAND    163 

"  lo !  there  now  went  abroad  a  report  that  Acre  was 
on  the  point  of  being  taken :  upon  hearing  which 
the  king  with  a  deep  sigh  prayed  God  that  the  city 
might  not  fall  before  his  arrival.  Then  with  great 
haste  he  went  on  board  one  of  the  best  and  largest 
of  his  galleys :  and  being  impatient  of  delay,  as  he 
always  was,  he  kept  right  on  ahead.  And  so,  as  they 
were  furrowing  the  sea  with  all  haste,  they  caught 
their  earliest  glimpse  of  that  Holy  Land  of  Jerusalem." 

Acre  had  not  fallen  when  Richard  arrived.  But 
within  a  month  the  Turks  were  forced  to  surrender 
the  stronghold.  Then  the  hopes  of  the  Crusaders 
ran  high,  and  they  dreamed  that  with  Richard  as 
their  leader  they  could  soon  conquer  the  whole  land. 
But  King  Philip  had  grown  weary  in  this  month  of 
hearing  the  praises  of  the  English  king  sung  by 
every  soldier  of  the  army,  and  in  spite  of  the  protests 
of  Richard  he  declared  that  he  was  weary  of  the  war 
and  sailed  away  home  with  a  large  part  of  his  army. 

The  story  of  this  war  between  Christian  and  Mos- 
lem is  too  long  to  tell  here.  For  a  year  and  a  half 
the  Crusaders  fought  in  Palestine,  but  though  they 
won  many  victories  they  were  too  few  to  conquer  the 
land.  In  every  battle  King  Richard's  bravery  won 
him  new  honor,  till  his  feats  were  the  talk  of  both 
armies.    Not  only  did  his  own  men  call  him  Richard 


1 64  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

the  Lion- Hearted,  but  his  name  was  so  feared  among 
the  Turks  that  it  became  a  byword  with  them.  A 
hundred  years  later  an  Arab  rider  would  exclaim  to 
his  horse  when  it  started  in  the  way  and  pricked  up 
its  ears,  "What!  dost  think  King  Richard  is  in 
front  of  thee  ?  "  and  Arab  mothers  would  frighten 
their  children  into  silence  by  whispering,  "  Hush, 
King  Richard  is  coming." 

Richard  was  twice  very  ill  with  fever  during  these 
months,  and  at  last,  having  made  terms  with  Saladin, 
by  which  the  Christians  were  to  have  many  rights  in 
the  Holy  City,  he  decided  to  sail  away  to  England, 
where  he  was  much  needed.  But  as  he  was  on  the 
point  of  embarking,  envoys  came  to  say  that  Jaffa 
had  been  taken  by  Saladin.  They  stood  before  the 
king  in  rent  garments,  beseeching  him  to  come  to 
the  aid  of  the  city,  and  he  broke  short  their  words  in 
the  middle  of  their  pleading,  saying,  "  God  yet  lives 
and  with  his  guidance  I  will  set  out  to  do  what  I  can." 

So  the  remnant  of  the  army  set  sail  for  Jaffa,  and 
"  a  favorable  wind  blew  up  from  behind  and  brought 
the  fleet  smoothly  and  safely  to  the  port  of  Jaffa  in 
the  deep  gloom  of  Friday  night.  Meanwhile,  when  the 
Turks  learned  that  the  king's  galleys  and  ships  were 
putting  into  shore,  they  rushed  down  to  the  beach 
in  bands.    They  did  not  wait  for  the  newcomers 


RICHARD  THE  DELIVERER  165 

to  reach  land,  but  flung  their  missiles  into  the  sea 
against  the  ships  ;  while  their  horsemen  advanced 
as  far  as  they  could  into  the  water  for  the  purpose 
of  shooting  their  arrows  with  greater  effect.  Mean- 
while the  king,  who  had  been  scanning  all  things 
with  a  curious  eye,  caught  sight  of  a  certain  priest, 
who  was  throwing  himself  from  the  land  into  the 
sea  in  order  that  he  might  swim  up.  This  man, 
when  taken  on  board  the  galley,  with  panting  breath 
and  beating  heart  spake  as  follows :  '  O  noble  king, 
those  who  still  survive  are  longing  for  thy  arrival. 
Assuredly  they  will  perish  at  once  unless,  by  thy 
means,  divine  aid  reaches  them.'  On  hearing  this 
the  king  said,  '  Then,  even  though  it  please  God,  on 
whose  service  and  under  whose  guidance  we  have 
come  to  this  land,  that  we  should  die  here  with  our 
brethren,  let  him  perish  who  will  not  go  forward.' 
Then  the  king's  galleys  were  thrust  on  toward  the 
shore  and  the  king  himself,  though  his  legs  were  un- 
armed, plunged  up  to  his  middle  into  the  sea,  and  so, 
by  vigorous  efforts,  gained  the  dry  land ;  and  all  the 
others  followed,  leaping  into  the  sea,  and  they  boldly 
set  upon  the  Turks  who  were  lining  the  beach,  and 
carried  on  the  pursuit  till  the  whole  shore  was  cleared. 
The  king  was  the  first  to  enter  the  town,  and  imme- 
diately he  had  his  banners  displayed  on  the  highest 


1 66  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

part  of  the  walls,  so  that  the  besieged  Christians  in 
the  tower  might  see  them.  They,  on  seeing  it,  took 
heart,  and  snatching  up  their  arms,  came  down  from 
the  tower  to  meet  their  deliverer." 

So  Jaffa  was  saved,  and  King  Richard  pitched  his 
tents  once  more  on  the  soil  of  Palestine.  But  here 
again  a  sore  sickness  came  upon  him,  and  since  none 
of  the  princes  of  the  army  would  stay  and  guard  the 
land  without  him,  he  sent  messengers  once  more  to 
Saladin  to  make  terms  for  a  truce.  When  the  mes- 
sengers returned,  they  brought  the  draft  of  a  treaty 
by  which  Jerusalem  was  to  be  open  to  all  pilgrims 
for  the  space  of  three  years  and  three  months  and 
three  days  and  three  hours.  They  placed  the  paper 
in  Richard's  hands  and  told  him  what  was  in  it  (for 
he  was  very  ill),  and  he  answered,  "  I  have  no  strength 
to  read  it,  but  here  is  my  hand  on  the  peace." 

In  October  Richard  sailed  away  from  Palestine. 
Before  he  went  he  sent  word  to  Saladin,  his  chivalrous 
adversary,  for  whom  he  had  a  great  admiration,  and 
who  had  shown  him  during  his  illness  many  kind- 
nesses though  they  were  enemies  at  war,  that  when 
the  three  years'  truce  was  over  he  would  come  again 
to  rescue  Jerusalem ;  and  Saladin  said  in  answer 
that  if  he  must  lose  his  land  he  would  rather  lose  it 
to  Richard  than  to  any  man  alive. 


i67 


1 68  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  Richard's  fleet 
set  sail  from  the  Holy  Land,  and  as  the  vessels 
weighed  anchor  all  the  people  wept  and  lamented, 
crying,  "  O  Jerusalem,  who  will  protect  thee  if  the 
truce  is  broken,  now  that  thou  art  reft  of  such  a 
champion."  And  the  king,  "  looking  back  with  pious 
eyes  upon  the  land  behind  him,  after  long  meditation, 
broke  out  into  prayer :  '  O  Holy  Land,  to  God  do  I 
intrust  thee.  May  he,  of  his  mercy,  only  grant  me 
such  space  of  life  that,  by  his  good  will,  I  may  bring 
thee  aid.  For  it  is  my  hope  and  intention  to  aid  thee 
in  some  future  time.'  And  with  this  prayer  he  urged 
his  sailors  to  display  full  sail  so  that  they  might 
make  a  speedier  course." 

Richard  never  returned  to  the  Holy  Land,  and 
though  other  kings  led  Crusades  during  the  next 
hundred  years,  Christendom  never  enlarged  her  do- 
main to  include  Palestine.  But  though  they  failed  to 
extend  the  bounds  of  Christendom,  these  Crusades 
served  to  strengthen  the  bonds  by  which,  after  the  bar- 
barian invasions,  Europe' was  gradually  united.  They 
are  the  sign  that  out  of  the  Roman  Empire  and  the 
barbarian  kingdoms  had  come  forth   Christendom. 


NOTES 


THE  MEDIAEVAL  WORLD 


OUTLINE 
By  centuries 

The  wandering  of  the  peoples 

ist  period  (Goths  and  Huns)       .    .    .  5th  century 

2d  period  (Danes  and  Norsemen)   .    .  8th  and  9th  centuries 
The  attempts  for  a  united  Europe 

Theodoric's  kingdom 5th  and  6th  centuries 

Charlemagne's  empire 8th  and  9th  centuries 

The  Saracen  invasions 8th,    9th,    and    10th 

centuries 

The  Crusades nth,  12th,  and  13th 

centuries 
169 


170  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

By  dates 

The  expedition  of  Drusus 9  b.c. 

The  sack  of  Rome 410  a.d. 

The  battle  of  Chalons 451 

Theodoric's  reign  in  Italy 493~525 

The  baptism  of  Clovis 496 

The  battle  of  Guadelete 711 

The  coronation  of  Charlemagne 800 

Ragnar  before  Paris 845 

Alfred's  treaty  with  the  Danes 878 

Charles's  treaty  with  Rollo 912 

Richard's  Crusade       1190-1192 


SOURCES 

To  give  even  a  partial  list  of  the  sources  of  this  book  would 
be  to  recite  a  succession  of  names  of  chronicles  and  of  histo- 
rians, with  most  of  which  the  teacher  would  probably  be  un- 
familiar. The  repetition  would  serve  no  practical  purpose  save 
to  give  the  volume  an  air  of  scholarship  and  erudition.  Edward 
Freeman,  the  great  English  historian,  has  voiced  the  experience 
of  all  students  of  the  early  Middle  Ages  when  he  says :  "  The 
history  of  these  years  has  to  be  made  out  by  piecing  together  a 
great  number  of  authorities,  none  of  which  are  of  first-rate  merit. 
We  have  an  unusual  wealth  of  accounts,  such  as  they  are,  written 
by  men  who  lived  at  the  time  ;  but  there  is  none  who  claims  high 
place  as  a  narrator,  still  less  is  there  any  who  could  understand 
the  full  significance  of  his  own  days.  Nor  is  there  any  who  gave 
himself  specially  to  remark  and  to  record  that  particular  chain 
of  events  with  which  we  are  specially  concerned.  All  is  frag- 
mentary ;  one  fact  has  to  be  found  here  and  another  there." 

Yet  the  reader  of  to-day  need  not  enter  this  vast  and  some- 
what unexplored  field  of  history  without  a  guide.  The  reason 
why  we  turn  to  the  history  of  the  Middle  Ages  is  not  that  the 


NOTES  171 

children  may  glean  a  few  facts  or  learn  a  few  names  with  an 
episode  attached  to  each.  It  is  because  there  is  a  continuity  in 
this  record  of  events,  because  these  men  were,  all  unconsciously 
to  themselves,  laying  the  foundations  of  the  modern  world.  That 
the  chroniclers  of  those  early  days  were  graphic  in  their  stories 
and  that  the  men  and  the  times  were  picturesque  and  interesting 
is  our  good  fortune.  That  is  why  children  enjoy  the  stories. 
They  will  enjoy  them  all  the  more  and  remember  them  the 
longer  if  they  see  in  the  heroes  not  merely  "  famous  men  "  but 
builders  of  the  world  of  to-day.  Great  historians  have  within  the 
last  century  interpreted  the  Middle  Ages  in  the  light  of  modern 
thought.  They  have  seen  in  the  succession  of  events  an  epic  of 
civilization.  Kings  and  warriors  have  been  to  them  actors  in  a 
great  world  drama.  It  is  these  men  who  must  be  our  guides. 
They  wrote  essays  and  histories  for  older  people ;  the  author 
has  tried  to  put  their  spirit  into  stories  for  children.  To  the 
thoughtful  child  the  purpose  of  the  tales  will  be  plain;  but  it 
would  have  spoiled  the  artistic  story-side  of  the  book  to  have 
the  joints  of  the  framework  too  visible.  The  following  quota- 
tions and  notes  are  given  with  the  purpose  of  taking  the  teacher 
and  older  reader  a  little  further  into  the  author's  plan,  and  in 
the  hope  that  thereby  the  work  may  be  made  more  simple  and 
more  rewarding. 


THE  STORY  OF  DRUSUS 

The  two  mighty  streams  that  protected  the  provinces  of  Eiirope. 

Gibbon 

In  the  drama  of  Europe  the  Rhine-Danube  river  line  claims  a 
place  as  one  of  the  chief  factors.  Men  and  jiations  come  and  go  ; 
but  pick  up  the  story  where  we  will,  there  are  civilized  peoples 
on  one  side  of  the  line,  barbarians  on  the  other.  Call  the  child's 
attention  to  this,  and  let  him  watch  for  the  rivers  in  every  story, 
till  at  the  end  he  can  trace  them  on  the  map  and  give  some  such 
outline  as  this. 


172  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

I.  Boundary  between  the  Roman  Empire  and  the  Barbarian. 

1.  Frontier  fortified  by  the  Romans  (p.  2). 

2.  Romans  try  to  cross  over  and  fail  (pp.  4-9). 

3.  Neutral  meeting  place  (pp.  10-17). 

4.  The  barbarian  Goth  crosses  over  to  escape  the  more 

barbarian  Hun  (pp.  22,  23). 

5.  Alaric  crosses  back  to  be  made  king  (p.  27). 

6.  Romans  cross  to  beg  the  barbarian  Attila  not  to  enter 

the  Empire  (pp.  43-46). 

7.  Attila  retires  beyond  the  river  in  defeat  (p.  52). 

II.  Boundary  between  Christendom  and  the  Barbarian. 

1.  Clovis  establishes  it  (pp.  85-91). 

2.  Charlemagne  restores  it  (p.  107). 

3.  The  Church  sends  Winfred  across  it  to  convert  the 

barbarian  tribes  (pp.  1 51-158). 

A  ROMAN  AND  A  BARBARIAN 

There  is  one  sentiment,  one  in  particular,  which  it  is  necessary 
to  understand  before  we  can  form  a  true  picture  of  a  barbarian  :  it 
is  the  pleasure  of  personal  independence,  —  the  pleasure  of  enjoying, 
in  full  force  and  liberty,  all  his  powers  in  the  various  ups  and 
downs  of  fortune  ;  the  fondness  for  activity  without  labor ;  for  a 
life  of  enterprise  and  adventure.  Such  was  the  prevailing  character 
and  disposition  of  the  barbarians ;  such  were  the  moral  wants 
which  put  these  immense  masses  of  men  into  motion.  .  .  .  It  was 
the  rude  barbarians  of  Germany  who  i?ztroduced  this  sentiment  of 
personal  independence,  this  love  of  individual  liberty,  into  European 
civilization.  —  Guizot 

In  discussing  Athanaric  and  the  other  Gothic  heroes  we  should 
keep  it  constantly  in  mind  that  our  interest  in  the  barbarian  is 
in  him  as  an  actor  in  the  drama  of  civilization,  as  a  builder  of  the 
modern  world.  We  do  not  ignore  his  cruelties  or  vices ;  neither 
do  we  dwell  on  them.  The  Teuton  fulfilled  the  definition  of  a 
barbarian  by  being  "  a  man  in  a  rude,  savage,  and  uncivilized 


NOTES  173 

state."  He  was  a  true  barbarian,  but  he  was  something  more; 
else  Kingsley's  word  would  not  have  been  spoken  that  "the 
hope  and  not  the  despair  of  the  world  lay  in  the  Teuton."  It 
was  true,  as  Myers  has  said,  that  the  Teutons  "  had  neither  arts, 
nor  sciences,  nor  philosophies,  nor  literatures.  But  they  had 
something  better  than  all  these  things  :  they  had  personal  worth. 
It  was  because  of  this,  because  of  their  free,  independent  spirit, 
of  their  unbounded  capacity  for  growth,  for  culture,  for  accom- 
plishment, that  the  future  time  became  theirs." 


THE  COMING  OF  THE  WITCH  PEOPLE 

Against  the  empire  of  the  Ostrogoths  the  endless  Asiatic  horde 
moved  on. —  Hodgkin 

Here  the  distinction  may  be  made  between  the  two  kinds  of 
barbarian :  the  Teuton,  M  who  had  in  him  the  power  of  rising  to 
the  highest  level "  ;  and  the  Hun,  who  is  classed  with  "  dull  bar- 
barians, mighty  in  destruction,  powerless  in  construction,  essen- 
tially and  incurably  barbarous."  Bring  out  for  the  children  the 
contrast  between  the  two :  "  the  fair-haired,  fair-skinned,  long- 
bearded,  and  majestic  Goth  on  the  one  side ;  the  little,  swarthy, 
smooth-faced  Tartar  Hun  on  the  other;  here  the  shepherd 
merging  into  the  agriculturist,  there  the  mere  hunter ;  here  the 
barbarian  standing  on  the  threshold  of  civilization,  there  the 
irreclaimable  savage." 

The  Huns  are  supposed  to  have  originated  in  central  China, 
and  to  have  come  into  Europe  by  way  of  the  Sea  of  Aral  and 
the  region  north  of  the  Caspian  Sea.  Let  the  child  trace  the 
long  path  of  the  migration  on  the  map  in  his  geography. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  w  the  exclamation  of  the  Goth 
Athariaric,  when  led  into  the  market  place  of  Constantinople, 
may  stand  for  the  feelings  of  his  nation :  *  The  emperor  is  with- 
out doubt  a  god  upon  earth,  and  he  who  lifts  a  hand  against 
him  is  guilty  of  his  own  blood.'  " 


174  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 


ALARIC  THE  GOTH 

So,  under  the  health-bri?tging  zvaters  of  the  rapid  Busento,  sleeps 
Alareiks  the  Visigoth,  equalled,  may  it  not  be  said,  by  only  three 
men  in  succeeding  times  as  a  changer  of  the  course  of  history.  And 
these  three  are  Mohammed,  Columbus,  Napoleon.  —  Hodgkin 

There  is  a  story  that  as  Alaric  was  making  his  march  down 
from  the  Alps  into  Italy  a  monk  came  to  him  in  his  royal  tent 
and  warned  him  to  refrain  from  slaughter  and  bloodshed  such  as 
would  attend  an  invasion  of  the  land.  w  I  am  impelled  to  this 
course  in  spite  of  myself,"  replied  Alaric ;  w  for  something 
within  urges  me  every  day  irresistibly  onwards,  saying, '  Proceed 
to  Rome  and  make  that  city  desolate.' "  Such  is  the  feeling  of 
destiny  with  which  ancient  historians  record  the  calamity. 

The  importance  of  the  sack  of  Rome  is  immeasurably  greater 
than  its  three  days'  occupation  would  suggest.  As  Freeman  has 
said,  Rome  had  so  thoroughly  spread  herself  over  the  whole  of 
her  world  that  M  her  actual  capture  and  sack  was  a  solemn  and 
terror-striking  incident ;  it  was  a  sign  that  an  old  day  was  passing 
away  and  that  a  new  day  was  coming ;  it  was  a  thing  to  be  re- 
membered in  later  days  as  no  other  event  of  those  times  was 
likely  to  be  remembered ;  but  at  the  moment  it  made  little  prac- 
tical difference  to  any  but  those  who  immediately  suffered  by  it. 
What  really  changed  the  face  of  Western  Europe  was  not  that 
Rome  was  taken  but  that  Rome  was  threatened.  It  was  the 
presence  of  Alaric  in  Italy,  a  presence  of  which  the  taking  of 
Rome  was  as  it  were  the  formal  witness,  which  opened  the  way 
for  the  separation  of  the  Western  lands  from  the  Empire  and 
for  the  beginning  of  the  powers  of  the  modern  world." 

The  ransom  demanded  by  the  barbarians  is  particularly  inter- 
esting,—  gold  and  silver,  the  Nibelung  treasure,  as  Kingsley 
has  said ;  silken  tunics,  and  hides  dyed  in  scarlet ;  and  three 
thousand  pounds  of  pepper,  which  was  an  expensive  luxury 
brought  from  India,  and  which  suggests  that  the  appetites  of 
these  northerners  had  become  capricious  in  the  southern  lands. 


NOTES  175 


ATTILA  THE   SCOURGE  OF  GOD 

The  amount  of  abject,  slavish  fear  which  the  little  swarthy  Kal- 
muck succeeded  in  instilling  into  millions  of  human  hearts  is  not 
to  be  easily  matched  in  the  history  of  our  race.  .  .  .  The  i?npression 
left  upon  us  by  what  history  records  of  him  is  that  of  a  gigantic 
bully.  —  Hodgkin 

It  is  easy  to  make  so  many  events  turning  points  in  the  world's 
history  that  the  words  lose  their  meaning ;  but  no  one  can  over- 
estimate the  importance  of  these  battles  when  the  Huns  were 
defeated  and  driven  out  of  central  Europe.  The  invasions  of  the 
Goths  retarded  civilization,  but  when  the  "  tumult  and  the  shout- 
ing die  "  we  find  the  Goth  perpetuating  the  Roman  law  and  the 
Christian  faith,  w  endeavoring  everywhere  to  identify  himself 
with  the  system  he  overthrew.  For  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say," 
continues  Bryce,  w  that  the  thought  of  antagonism  to  the  Empire 
and  the  wish  to  extinguish  it  never  crossed  the  mind  of  the  bar- 
barians [Teutons]."  The  Huns  came  with  no  purpose  or  ambition 
but  to  destroy. 

Attila  has  often  been  compared  to  Napoleon,  our  latest  world 
conqueror,  and  the  passage  in  which  Hodgkin,  having  spoken  of 
their  many  unlikenesses,  sums  up  their  likenesses  is  so  suggestive 
as  to  be  worth  quoting.  "  Like  Attila,  Napoleon  destroyed  far 
more  than  he  could  rebuild :  his  empire,  like  Attila's,  lasted  less 
than  two  decades  of  years  ;  but,  unlike  Attila,  ...  he  outlived  his 
own  prosperity.  .  .  .  The  insatiable  pride,  the  arrogance  which 
beat  down  the  holders  of  ancient  thrones  and  trampled  them  like 
dust  beneath  their  feet,  the  wide-stretching  schemes  of  empire, 
the  haste  which  forbade  their  conquests  to  endure,  .  .  .  ,  and, 
above  all,  the  terror  which  the  mere  sound  of  their  names  brought 
to  fair  cities  and  widely  scattered  races  of  men,  —  in  all  these 
points  no  one  so  well  as  Napoleon  explains  to  us  the  character 
and  career  of  Attila." 


176  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

THEODORIC 

No  mail's  history  better  shows  the  strange  relations  between  the 
Teutons  and  the  dying  Empire.  —  Kingsley 

It  has  been  suggested  that  in  this  old  Gothic  custom  that  each 
young  warrior  must  perform  some  exploit  before  he  is  recognized 
by  the  tribe,  may  be  found  the  origin  of  the  similar  requirement 
of  chivalry  for  knighthood. 

GOTH   AGAINST  GOTH 

The  failing  Emperors  bought  off  the  Teutons  where  they  could; 
submitted  to  them  where  they  could  not ;  and  readily  enough  turned 
on  them  when  they  had  a  chance.  —  Kingsley 

One  picture  of  the  difficulties  of  the  barbarian  life,  and  one 
chronicle  of  the  migration  of  a  nation  it  has  seemed  worth  while 
to  give,  lest  in  our  stories  the  impression  be  made  on  the  child 
of  an  easy  and  inevitable  flow  of  events,  and  of  swift  successes 
and  changes.  We  talk  glibly  of  "  The  Wandering  of  the  Peo- 
ples "  ;  but  for  a  nation  to  move  a  thousand  miles  is  for  them,  and 
for  the  lands  through  which  the  journey  is  made,  a  convulsion 
like  an  earthquake  prolonged  for  days  and  weeks  and  months. 

In  connection  with  the  conditions  which  must  accompany  such 
a  migration,  Freeman  has  given  us  a  wise  caution.  M  The  rough 
dealings,"  he  says,  M  of  a  barbarian  invader  with  men  and  things 
in  the  invaded  land  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  prolonged 
and  carefully  studied  cruelties  of  a  Visconti.  .  .  .  Ravage,  plun- 
der, even  slaughter,  done  among  the  whirl  of  feelings  which  must 
accompany  the  armed  entry  into  a  strange  land,  are  really  not 
inconsistent  with  much  true  kindliness  of  heart  lurking  below." 

CLOVIS,   KING  OF  THE  FRANKS 

The  mere  warrior  and  conqueror  halts  at  the  bidding  of  one  who, 
warrior  and  conqueror  no  less  than  himself  is  also  the  ruler,  the 
lawgiver,  the  judge  between  contending  men  and  nations. 

Freeman 


NOTES  177 


Historians  are  one  in  their  estimate  of  the  importance  of 
Theodoric's  position  and  work,  and  in  our  story  he  is  a  striking 
illustration  of  the  transition  from  barbarian  to  noble  which  took 
place  with  all  the  barbarian  nations  except  the  Huns  and  the 
Saracens. 

w  The  first  real  attempt,"  writes  one  historian,  w  to  blend  the 
peoples  and  maintain  the  traditions  of  Roman  wisdom  in  the 
hands  of  a  new  and  vigorous  race  was  reserved  for  a  more  famous 
chieftain,  the  greatest  of  all  the  barbarian  conquerors,  the  fore- 
runner of  the  first  barbarian  Emperor,  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth." 
w  No  prince  in  history,"  writes  another,  "  ever  held  a  position  of 
greater  dignity,  or  used  it  with  greater  moderation."  That  his 
union  of  nations  died  with  him  is  a  sad  testimony  to  his  greatness. 
"  Because  he  had  done  for  a  generation  what  no  other  man  could 
do,  his  work  was  to  pass  away  with  his  generation." 

The  greatness  of  Theodoric  should  not,  however,  overshadow 
the  importance  of  Clovis,  the  founder  of  the  Frankish  kingdom. 
It  was  through  the  change,  which  in  his  life  is  so  picturesque, 
from  barbarian  to  Christian  that  Europe  was  to  be  transformed 
and  to  appear  before  many  centuries  "  in  the  higher  garb  of 
Christendom." 

RODERICK  AND  THE  SARACENS 

Of  strange  tradition  many  a  mystic  trace, 
Legend  and  vision,  p?vphecy  and  sign  ; 
Where  wonders  wild  of  Arabesque  combine 
With  Gothic  imagery  of  darker  shade. 

Sir  Walter  Scott 

So  Scott  characterizes  this  legendary  history  of  Spain  at  the 
opening  of  his  poem  based  on  this  story,  which  has  been  also 
used  by  Southey  as  the  subject  of  a  poem.  The  frequent  use  of 
this  incident  as  the  theme  of  poets  "  does  not,"  says  Coppee, 
"  seem  to  me  due  solely  to  its  interest  as  a  story :  it  has  a  mean- 
ing, and  an  important  one  ;  and  thus  we  accept  these  legends  as 
containing  valuable  contributions  to  the  true  history." 


178  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

CHARLEMAGNE 

That  imperial  figure  which,  like  some  magnificent  colossus,  flings 
its  shadow  athwart  the  boundary  that  divides  the  ancient  from  the 
modern  era.  —  Mullinger 

In  whatever  point  of  view,  indeed,  we  regard  the  reig?i  of  Charle- 
magne, we  always  find  its  leadmg  characteristic  to  be  a  desire  to 
overcome  barbarism,  and  to  adva?tce  civilization.  —  Guizot 

Up  to  this  point  the  characters  dealt  with  in  this  volume  have 
been  men  whose  modern  interest  was  from  a  single  point  of  view, 
—  the  conflict  between  barbarian  and  noble  and  the  transition  from 
barbarian  to  noble.  Charlemagne  is  the  first  of  a  large  number 
of  many-sided  heroes,  whose  greatness  lay  in  the  share  they  had 
in  all  the  movements  of  their  time.  The  treatment  of  Charle- 
magne calls  attention  to  the  method  of  the  series,  already  stated, 
of  grouping  characters  and  events  about  different  phases  of  the 
progress  of  civilization  rather  than  giving  full  biographies.  Char- 
lemagne is  an  admirable  example  of  the  advantages  of  this 
method.  To  give  a  continuous  biography  of  the  "  central  figure 
of  the  Middle  Ages  "  is  no  easy  or  satisfactory  matter.  We  may 
select  certain  parts  of  his  life,  but  we  must  be  constantly  digress- 
ing to  explain  why  this  or  that  item  or  anecdote  is.  important. 
If  we  try  to  tell  most  of  the  stories  about  him,  we  must  present 
a  curious  jumble  of  his  boyhood,  his  fondness  for  hunting,  his 
success  as  a  warrior  in  whose  wake  flowed  rivers  of  blood,  his 
coronation  following  immediately  upon  these  victories,  his  pat- 
ronage of  arts  and  learning,  and  in  the  next  breath  his  Bluebeard 
list  of  wives.  Moreover,  there  is  the  Charlemagne  of  chivalry 
and  romance  clamoring  for  a  place  in  the  story. 

It  is  our  belief  that  the  child  will  get  a  more  just  and  more 
attractive  impression  of  Charlemagne  by  coming  upon  him 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  story  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Certainly  he  could  not  be  better  introduced  than  as  the  noble 
overcoming  the  barbarian.  The  child  is  now  ready  to  appreciate 
his  place  in  history,  "  repeating  the  attempt  of  Theodoric  to 


NOTES  I 79 

breathe  a  Teutonic  spirit  into  Roman  forms,"  and  bringing  about 
"the  union,  so  long  in  preparation,  so  mighty  in  its  consequences, 
of  the  Roman  and  the  Teuton,  of  the  memories  and  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  South  with  the  fresh  energy  of  the  North."  "  And 
from  that  moment,"  says  Bryce,  w  modern  history  begins."  Re- 
call to  the  child  at  this  point  that  it  is  nearly  four  hundred  years 
since  the  first  Teuton  conquered  Rome,  but  that  Charlemagne  is 
the  first  to  receive  the  title  of  Emperor. 

Yet  Charlemagne's  political  empire  fell  to  pieces  at  his  death, 
and  in  the  reason  for  its  breaking  up  we  come  upon  another 
aspect  of  Charlemagne's  position.  A  new  spirit,  which  was  to 
triumph  in  Europe,  was  beginning  to  make  itself  felt,  —  the  spirit 
of  nationality ;  and  in  another  book  of  the  series,  "  Patriots  and 
Tyrants,"  we  see  Charlemagne  as  the  representative  of  the  theory 
of  empire  standing  over  against  Wittekind,  the  hero  of  national 
liberty.  Again,  the  emperor's  huge  jeweled  crown  is  one  of  the 
triumphs  of  the  Renaissance  art  of  which  the  story  is  told  in 
w  Craftsman  and  Artist."  And  so  we  find  him  in  this  series,  as  in 
the  chronicles  of  history,  appearing  at  every  turn.  The  Charle- 
magne of  chivalry  and  romance  belongs  to  literature  rather  than 
history,  and  will  be  found  in  the  author's  companion  series, 
The  Open  Road  Library. 

Read  in  connection  with  the  "man  of  iron"  picture  Longfellow's 
version  of  the  same  incident  in  The  Poet's  Tale :  Charlemagne  of 
"  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn." 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  THE  PALACE 

The  history  of  the  schools  of  Charles  the  Great  has  modified  the 
whole  subsequent  history  of  European  culture.  —  MULLINGER 

Four  great  influences  played  the  leading  parts  in  the  transfor- 
mation of  the  barbarian  peoples,  —  chivalry,  feudalism,  the  school, 
the  Church.    A  story  has  been  found  for  the  beginnings  of  each. 

In  The  Student's  Tale :  Emma  and  Eginhard,  Longfellow 
gives  a  charming  picture  of  the  time : 


180  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 

"  When  Alcuin  taught  the  sons  of  Charlemagne, 
In  the  free  schools  of  Aix,  how  kings  should  reign, 
And  with  them  taught  the  children  of  the  poor 
How  subjects  should  be  patient  and  endure, 


In  sooth,  it  was  a  pleasant  sight  to  see 
That  Saxon  monk,  with  hood  and  rosary, 
With  inkhorn  at  his  belt,  and  pen  and  book, 
And  mingled  love  and  reverence  in  his  look, 
Or  hear  the  cloister  and  the  court  repeat 
The  measured  footfalls  of  his  sandaled  feet, 
Or  watch  him  with  the  pupils  of  his  school, 
Gentle  of  speech,  but  absolute  of  rule." 

VIKINGS   FROM  THE  NORTH 

"  Nozv  give  us  men  from  the  sunless  plain" 
Cried  the  South  to  the  Arorth, 
w  By  need  oftuork  in  the  snow  and  rain 
Made  strong,  a?id  brave  by  familiar  pain  /" 
Cried  the  South  to  the  North. 

The  relations  between  men  from  the  north  and  dwellers  in  the 
south  is  a  fascinating  starting  point  for  a  study  of  history.  It  is 
hard  at  first  to  see  any  advantage  which  was  to  come  from  that 
second  outbreak  of  the  Wandering  of  the  Peoples,  when  "the 
torrent  of  barbarism  which  Charles  the  Great  had  stemmed  was 
rushing  down  upon  his  empire."  But  out  of  the  blending  of 
these  peoples  were  to  come  the  strong  nations  of  the  modern 
world. 

Of  this  incident  of  the  Northmen  before  Paris,  Keary  has 
said  with  truth  that  "  a  volume  could  not  better  express  than 
this  one  fact "  the  conditions  of  the  time,  —  the  ignorance  of  the 
invaders  of  the  world  into  which  they  were  forcing  their  way, 
and  the  mystery  with  which  they  were  enshrouded  by  the  super- 
stitions of  Europe  about  the  north.    This  tale  may  be  used  also 


NOTES  l8l 

as  a  perfect  illustration  of  the  way  history  and  legend  grow  up 
together.  The  simple  fact  of  an  attack,  and  a  retreat  in  the  fog 
is  the  historic  material.  In  Norse  legend  the  city  with  its  vapor- 
ous mist  becomes  a  part  of  the  lower  world ;  in  Paris  the  story 
becomes  a  monkish  legend  of  miracle. 

ALFRED  AND  THE  DANES 

Alfred  is  the  most  perfect  character  in  history.  .  .  .  A  saint 
zvithout  superstition,  a  scholar  without  ostentation,  a  warrior  all 
whose  wars  were  fought  in  the  defense  of  his  country,  a  conqueror 
whose  laurels  were  never  stained  by  cruelty,  a  prince  never  cast 
down  by  adversity,  never  lifted  up  to  insolence  in  the  hour  of 
triumph  —  there  is  no  other  nai?ie  in  history  to  compare  with  his. 

Freeman 

It  is  always  a  delight  to  come  upon  Alfred  in  our  reading  of 
history,  and  we  shall  come  upon  him  many  times  again.  Here 
he  is  rendering  England  an  immeasurable  service  in  fighting 
and  then  civilizing  the  barbarian  Danes.  His  distinction  as  the 
founder  of  England's  navy  gives  him  a  place  in  "  Sea  Kings  and 
Explorers " ;  his  patronage  of  the  arts  gains  him  "  honorable 
mention  "  in  "  Craftsman  and  Artist " ;  and  no  English-speaking 
readers  would  be  satisfied  without  seeing  him  also  in  his  private 
life  as  "  England's  Darling  "  in  M  Kings  and  Common  Folk." 

ROLLO  THE  VIKING 

A  young  Viking,  Rolf,  .  .  .  7uas  destined  .  .  .  to  create  the  only 
permanent  northern  slate  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  Carlo- 
vingian  Empire.  —  Keary 

The  story  of  Rollo  tells  itself.  It  should  only  be  noticed  that 
in  the  ceremony  which  made  him  a  vassal  of  the  king,  and  in 
his  distribution  of  land  among  his  men,  we  have  the  signs  of  the 
feudalism  which  established  property  rights  and  organized  men 
and  tribes  in  a  settled  society  which  ended  all  nomadic  life. 


1 82  BARBARIAN  AND  NOBLE 


SAINT  WINFRED 

When  at  the  fall  of  the  western  empire  .  .  .  she  found  herself 
surrounded  by  barbarian  kings,  by  barbarian  chieftains  wandering 
from  place  to  place,  or  shut  up  in  their  castles,  with  whom  she  had 
nothing  in  common,  between  whom  and  her  there  was  as  yet  no  tie  : 
.  .  .  only  one  idea  became  predominant  in  the  Church  :  it  was  to 
take  possession  of  these  newcomers  —  to  convert  them.  — Guizot 

In  our  earlier  stories  the  spread  of  Christianity  has  seemed  a 
political  matter,  accomplished  by  war.  Personal  missionary  work 
always  followed  and  sometimes  preceded  the  national  change 
from  heathendom,  "  and  the  work  that  Winfred  did,  unlike  that 
of  Charlemagne,  has  never  been  undone,  but,  ever  fresh  and 
vigorous,  bears  fruit  more  and  more  abundantly." 


RICHARD  THE  CRUSADER 

Honor  enough  his  merit  brings, 

He  needs  no  alien  praise 
In  whose  train,  Glory,  like  a  king's, 

Follows  through  all  his  days. 

Itinerarium  Regis  Ricardi 

The  story  of  the  struggle  between  barbarian  and  noble  on 
European  soil  is  finished  ;  the  outline  map  of  Europe  is  fairly 
well  defined,  though  no  permanent  lines  of  division  can  be 
drawn  within  her  borders.  But  in  the  Crusades  we  have  an 
epilogue.  The  barbarian  no  longer  invades  Europe,  but  a  war- 
like Christendom,  stimulated  by  the  Church  and  organized  by 
the  institution  of  chivalry,  seeks  out  the  former  invaders  —  the 
barbaric  races  of  Arab,  Moor,  and  Turk  —  in  their  homes,  and 
wages  with  them  a  struggle  of  three  centuries.  With  Richard 
the  Crusader  our  drama  closes.  We  do  not  even  wait  to  see 
him  imprisoned  on  his  way  home  and  rescued  by  Blondel ;  that 
tale  belongs  in  M  Cavalier  and  Courtier." 


NOTES  183 

CONCLUSION 

Sum  it  up  before  you  leave  it  and  see  what  a  drama  it  is  : 
Roman  generals  halted  at  the  doors  of  barbarian  Germany; 
Alaric  and  his  Goths  coming  down  upon  Rome  ;  Goths  and 
Romans  uniting  to  drive  out  the  more  barbarian  hordes  of  the 
Huns ;  Theodoric,  the  Gothic  civilizer,  receiving  homage  from 
that  fierce  barbarian,  Clovis  the  Frank ;  the  barbaric  Saracen 
defeating  in  Spain  Roderick,  the  last  king  of  the  Goths,  but 
falling  back  fifty  years  later  before  Charlemagne,  the  descendant 
of  Clovis;  Alfred  defending  England  from  the  Danes,  and 
Charlemagne's  kingdom  threatened  by  Rollo  the  Viking;  last, 
Rollo's  descendant,  Richard  the  Lion-Hearted,  crusading  beyond 
the  bounds  of  Europe  in  behalf  of  Christendom. 

The  foundations  have  been  laid  upon  which  every  nation  of 
modern  Europe  was  to  rise.  If  it  seems  that  favorite  heroes  and 
familiar  names  have  been  omitted,  the  brief  limits  of  sixteen 
stories  and  the  opportunities  of  the  remaining  five  volumes  of 
the  series  must  be  the  excuse.  And  if  it  seems  that  England's 
story  has  been  underemphasized,  the  author  would  point  once 
more  to  the  later  books,  and  repeat  the  words  of  Freeman  in  his 
lectures  on  M  Western  Europe  in  the  Fifth  Century  "  :  w  Every 
event  that  I  have  dwelled  on  in  continental  history,  every  pic- 
ture that  I  have  striven  to  give  of  continental  life,  during  this 
great  period  of  the  Wandering  of  the  Nations,  has  been  meant 
as  an  indirect  contribution  to  the  history  of  Britain  and  of  the 
Teutonic  conquerors  of  Britain." 


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